Oceans, Ice and Climate Change: An IPCC update

Climate Futures’ Prof. Nathan Bindoff joined Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas, both IPPC authors, in an online webinar to discuss the UN body’s latest report on oceans and climate change, and to explore its implications for Australia.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on the Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) in September 2019. The report assesses the physical processes and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems. It also assesses the consequences for human communities, and the options for people to adapt to climate-related changes.

The presentation focused on key findings from this report for the oceans and polar regions, and for Australia.

Prof. Bindoff was a coordinating lead author for the oceans chapter of the report, and a drafting author on the report’s Summary for Policy Makers. Dr. Melbourne-Thomas was a lead author on the report’s polar regions chapter and a contributing author on its summary.