IPCC Special Reports

What are IPCC Special Reports?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change prepares Special Reports to deeply analyse specific climate-related themes, such as:

• Regional impacts of climate change
• Carbon capture and storage
• Link between ozone layer protection and climate system

📌 Key difference:

• Assessment Reports → broad, periodic
• Special Reports → focused, urgent, issue-driven

Three Special Reports decided in 2016 (Very Important for UPSC)

In 2016, IPCC decided to prepare three Special Reports, all of which later became highly exam-relevant:

1. Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) – October 2018
2. Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) – August 2019
3. Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) – September 2019

Let us understand them one by one:

SR1.5 — Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (2018)

This report answers a crucial question:

“Is limiting global warming to 1.5°C still possible — and if yes, how?”

Core finding

Yes, limiting warming to 1.5°C is scientifically possible, but only if:

• Global GHG emissions are reduced by 45% by 2030 (from 2010 levels)
• Net-zero emissions are achieved by 2050

What does “Net Zero” mean? (UPSC favourite)

Net zero does NOT mean zero emissions.

👉 It means:

• Emissions produced = Emissions absorbed or removed

This balance can be achieved through:

• Natural sinks (forests, soil, oceans)
• Technological removal (carbon capture, storage)

Political reality highlighted by SR1.5

• Some countries have announced net-zero targets
• But major emitters — China, the US, and India — had not committed at that time

📌 This highlights the gap between science and politics.

Timeline warning

At the current emission rate:

• The world will breach the 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2052

👉 This finding later became the scientific backbone of climate urgency narratives.

SRCCL — Special Report on Climate Change and Land (2019)

This report shifts attention to an often-overlooked dimension:

Land is both a problem and a solution in climate change.

Land as a source of emissions

Between 2007 and 2016:

• Land-use activities (agriculture, forestry, urbanisation, industry) emitted:
  • ~5.2 Gt CO₂ per year

Land as a carbon sink

During the same period:

• Trees and forests absorbed:
  • ~11.2 Gt CO₂ per year

👉 Net effect:

• Land removed ~6 Gt CO₂ annually from the atmosphere

📌 This shows why deforestation is doubly dangerous — it increases emissions and destroys absorption capacity.

Food systems and climate change

When the entire food system is considered:

• Agriculture
• Cattle rearing
• Processing
• Transport
• Energy use

👉 Food systems may contribute up to one-third of global GHG emissions.

Food loss and waste

• ~25% of food produced globally is lost or wasted
• Its decomposition releases methane and CO₂

📌 Climate change is therefore also a consumption and lifestyle issue.

SROCC — Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere (2019)

This report focuses on the most sensitive components of the Earth system:

Oceans and ice — where climate change effects are fastest and often irreversible.

Ocean warming

• Oceans have absorbed over 90% of excess heat in the climate system
• Since 1993, the rate of ocean warming has more than doubled
• Marine heatwaves:
  • Have very likely doubled in frequency since 1982
  • Are becoming more intense

Ocean health crisis

The ocean is:

• Warming
• Becoming more acidic
• Losing oxygen

Consequences:

• Expansion of dead zones
• Suffocation of marine life
• Disruption of ocean circulation, leading to extreme weather on land

📌 Lag effect:
Even if all emissions stopped today, ocean impacts would continue for centuries.

Sea Level Rise

Sea level rise occurs due to:

1. Thermal expansion of seawater
2. Melting of glaciers and ice sheets

Key facts:

• 50% of coastal wetlands lost in last 100 years
• By 2100:
  • ~1.1 m rise if emissions are not controlled
  • 30–60 cm rise even if emissions are reduced (best-case)

📌 This makes coastal adaptation unavoidable.

Cryosphere: The Frozen Alarm Bell

What is the cryosphere?

The cryosphere includes:

• Polar ice sheets
• Glaciers
• Snow cover
• Permafrost

Ice loss data (2006–2015)

• Greenland ice sheet:
  • 278 billion tonnes/year
• Antarctic ice sheet:
  • 155 billion tonnes/year
• Other glaciers (Himalayas, etc.):
  • 220 billion tonnes/year

👉 Loss ranking:
Arctic > Himalayas > Antarctica

Himalayan concern (India-relevant)

• Glaciers feeding 10 major rivers, including:
  • Ganges
  • Yangtze
    may shrink drastically if emissions continue.

📌 This threatens water security across Asia.

Permafrost thaw

• Regions like Alaska and Siberia
• Thawing releases methane and CO₂
• Can trigger dangerous feedback loops, accelerating warming

Suggested Solutions (From SROCC)

🔹 Biodiversity protection

• Expand large-scale protected areas on:
  • Land
  • Oceans

🔹 Emission reduction — the hard truth

• Biodiversity conservation alone is not sufficient
• Rapid and deep GHG reductions are essential
• IPCC calls for a fivefold increase in ambition of NDCs

These Nationally Determined Contributions are commitments made under the Paris Agreement.

Conclusion

IPCC Special Reports provide sharp, theme-specific scientific warnings — showing that limiting warming to 1.5°C demands rapid emission cuts, land and food systems are central to climate solutions, and oceans and the cryosphere are approaching irreversible tipping points.