RESILIENT DESIGN RESOURCES

In March 2023 the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth annual Synthesis Report on Climate Change for Policymakers.  Detailed sections include: Current Status and Trends, Future Climate Change Risks, and Responses In The Near Term under which this summary statement can be found. 

"Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health (very high confidence). There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all (very high confidence). The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years (high confidence)."

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf

 The Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses. It is a congressionally mandated interagency effort that provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States.  Even with the progress made in reducing emissions, the assessment states:

"...global average temperatures are not expected to fall for centuries unless CO2 emissions become net negative, which is when CO2 removal from the atmosphere exceeds CO2 emissions from human activities. Regardless of when or if further warming is avoided, some long-term responses to the temperature changes that have already occurred will continue. These responses include sea level rise, ice sheet losses, and associated disruptions to human health, social systems, and ecosystems. In addition, the ocean will continue to acidify after the world reaches net-zero CO2 emissions, as it continues to gradually absorb CO2 in the atmosphere from past emissions." 

 https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/