EPA Statement On Publication Of IPCC Working Group.

IPCC Report echoes key findings of EPA publications on Ireland’s projected greenhouse gas emissions.
For Ireland to transform to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by 2050, there needs to be a significant and immediate increase in the scale and pace of greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Irish authors and scientists contributed to the new report.

The EPA welcomes the publication of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report reaffirms and strengthens the findings in previous reports on the human impacts on climate change.
This latest IPCC report provides new and important insights on the current state of the global climate system, and the steps needed to halt human-induced climate change.
The EPA also welcomed the contributions by authors and scientists from Ireland to the report. The work of the IPCC relies on information and analysis provided by research and sustained systematic observations of the climate system.
Commenting on the report Mr Frank McGovern, (EPA Chief Climate Scientist), said:
“This is an important and timely report, which will be considered by policymakers at the COP26 meeting in November. However, the information it provides can inform decision making on climate change at all levels.
It is essential that we maintain and develop targeted climate change research in Ireland. This is needed to inform actions here and, in particular, the responses that we require. This includes enhanced management of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, as well as the adaptation responses needed to ensure that we can manage the impacts of climate change”.
Ms Laura Burke, (EPA Director General), said:
“For Ireland the report underlines the key messages from the recent EPA publication on Ireland’s greenhouse gas emission projections, which states that the next decade needs to be one of major developments and advances in relation to Ireland’s response to climate change and there needs to be a significant and immediate increase in the scale and pace of greenhouse gas emission reductions. In addition, the IPCC report makes it clear that we must chart a course to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions in the coming decades”.

The EPA leads in the development and coordination of national climate change research in Ireland. It works with other agencies and research bodies in development of key climate related observations including observations of greenhouse gases, aerosols, river flows and fresh water levels.
The EPA provided support for Prof. Peter Thorne, Maynooth University, who acted as a coordinating lead author on the chapter on observations in the Working Group I (WGI) report of the 6th Assessment Cycle.
The EPA has also supported the research at Mace Head cited in the report, and the work of Dr Jurgita Ovadnevaite, who was an author on the chapter on air pollution in the WG1 report.
The EPA has supported work on the 6th Climate Modelling Inter-comparison Project (CMIP-6) used throughout the IPCC report through the work of Dr. Paul Nolan in ICHEC.
The EPA hosts the Climate Ireland information portal which provides interactive access to climate information for Ireland.