The Language Of Climate Change Just Changed in a Major Way

In so many ways, not much has changed since the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—perhaps the premiere climate science-and-policy organization in the world—published its last major report in 2014. Just as it was seven years ago, the latest edition, published on Aug. 8, is largely gloomy in outlook, with grim warnings of what the future looks like given the self-destructive trajectory to which humanity seems to have committed itself. However, there are some subtle differences that, on deeper investigation, are truly incredible, indicating just how far down the nightmarish path we actually are. In each of the IPCC’s six Assessment Reports, the group has compiled a “summary for policymakers,” in which its findings are distilled down to what it most wants to communicate to those occupying seats of power around the world. The language choices, therefore, are no accident. Indeed, the 42-page document that comprises the 2021 IPCC report has no fewer than 79 drafting authors, and an additional 42 contributing authors. And every one of the IPCC’s policymaker summaries has included a footnote explaining in explicit terms what it means for the report to use the phrase “high confidence” vs. “medium confidence,” for example. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] And, if you compare it to the way language has been wielded in the last four reports, the rhetoric of the 2021 is striking. The chart...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change healthscienceclimate Source Type: news