The Synthesis Report

Based on the reports of the three Working Groups (WG) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as on the three Special Reports on Global Warming of 1.5°C, on Climate Change and Land, and on the Ocean and the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the Synthesis Report provides an integrated view of climate change as the final part of the Sixth Assessment Report.

With Working Group I exploring the current state of knowledge related to human influence on the climate system; WGII examining the impacts and risks climate change is having on nature and people and what can be done to adapt; and WGIII focusing on the options we have to tackle and prevent future climate change; the Synthesis Report provides an integrated overview and synthesis of the state of knowledge concerning all aspects of climate change science, emphasizing new results since the publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report in 2014.

The scientific topics covered by the Synthesis Report include:

• Where emissions come from and how they can be reduced.
• Unavoidable climate change due to past emissions and infrastructure we have already built.
• Current impacts and risks of climate change on humans and nature.
• What people have already done to adapt to climate change today.
• What we have already done to prevent future climate change from happening.
• The possible future climates depending on climate action or inaction.
• The amount of carbon emissions compatible with climate goals.
• How preventing climate change can be achieved in a way that supports our other goals on planet earth, such as reducing poverty, improving biodiversity, and eradicating malnutrition.
• What we could do to achieve the Paris Agreement goal (to keep global warming below 2 degrees, and to pursue efforts to stay below 1.5 degrees).
• How the way that we live impacts climate change, and how we can reduce emissions through the way we choose to live.
• The actions that governments can take and how they can work together internationally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• How getting finances right is an important part of preventing global warming, and where money might be best allocated to support a future with lower emissions.
• The technology that could support us to prevent global warming.
• How systemic transitions beyond incremental change are important to enable the change at the pace and scale required to support a future with lower emissions.

The Sixth Assessment Report

The Synthesis Report first looks at the current status of climate change, how we got there and what we have done so far in terms of climate action, covering the historical and present period. It then looks at different possible futures and associated risks and impacts, up to 2100 and beyond. The final part focuses on what we can do now to achieve international climate goals, considering current international policy timeframes, and the time interval between now and 2030-2040.

The Synthesis Report is the most policy relevant product of the Sixth Assessment Report, because it provides an integrated overview of findings from the three Working Groups and their new results since the publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report in 2014. It is a short document, written in a non-technical style, and therefore accessible and understandable to all. Based on the Synthesis Report, policy makers around the world, but also businesses, the media, civil society, youth, and financing institutions will know which impacts and risks their communities and nations are already and will be facing, what can be done to increase their overall resilience, and what they can do now to prevent future climate change from happening.