Climate Change and Land. 50th session IPCC in Geneva

The Special Report of the IPCC dedicated to the relationships between climate change, desertification, degradation and sustainable management of land and soil, food security and greenhouse gas flows in terrestrial ecosystems was presented on August 8th. ISPRA is strongly committed to the study, analysis and evaluation of all related phenomena, also providing technical support to the MATTM on these issues. The Institute participates in international negotiations on climate, desertification and biodiversity and contributes to the preparation of reports on these issues produced by national and international institutions, including the IPCC. In this scenario, ISPRA carries out relevant activities on the subject of consumption and land degradation, on desertification, on mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

It was presented the summary for political decision makers of the Climate Change and Land report was presented: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.

More than 100 scientists from 52 countries have worked for about three years to research the links between agriculture, land degradation, desertification, food security and climate change. In synthesis, these are hundreds of millions of people living in the poorest nations of the planet who will have to struggle to produce enough food to satisfy their food needs. The combined action of increasing food demand and climate change on agricultural and natural areas will trigger mass migrations and conflicts. The document concludes that humanity will have to review the way of cultivating if it intends to effectively curb the impacts of climate change and produce food and fiber for a population in continuous growth, from the current 7.7 billion to 10 billion in 2050.

Report