News
Summary for Policy Makers of the new Special Report on Extremes (SREX)
November 18 2011by IPCC
The IPCC has released the Summary for Policy Makers of the new Special Report on Extremes (SREX). This report, approved by all governments in the UN, summarizes best scientific knowledge on (i) how climate change affects weather extremes, now and in the future (ii) how these extremes result in disasters (iii) how those changing risks should be managed. Maarten van Aalst, director of the Climate Centre, contributed to the SREX report as a Coordinating Lead Author to the IPCC. The full SREX report will be available in early 2012.
Below are various materials and links relating to the IPCC's new SREX.
- IPCC website
, with the Summary for Policy Makers and other background materials - IFRC press release
(pdf, 221 kB), opinion piece (pdf, 197 kB), case study (pdf, 1 MB) - SREX in 2 pages: 10 Key Messages of the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events (pdf, 339 kB)
- SREX in 4 pages: Headlines from the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events (pdf, 345 kB)
- AlertNet: Few nations doing enough to protect people from extreme weather - Quotes from IPCC authors
On Thursday 24 November the ODI organized a Public Event, which was screened live online. The video of the event is now available on their website. It is both able to be streamed and available for download in bite size chunks here .
The IPCC is the UN's scientific panel that assesses the knowledge base on climate change. Their assessments are performed by hundreds of the best scientists. Their conclusions are strengthened and refined based on three thorough review rounds by experts and governments. The final assessment results are summarized in a Summary for Policy Makers that is adopted line-by-line in a governmental approval session, where the author team guards the integrity of the scientific findings, but governments ensure that the summary truly reflects an international consensus on what the best science tells us.
Main topics:
- Disaster Management
- Health and Care
- Early warning early action
- Advocacy
- Communications
- Community risk reduction
- Youth
- Getting started
Disaster Management
Climate change can act as a catalyst for enhanced disaster management.
Health and Care
Many national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies will be touched by the health implications of climate change.
Early warning early action
Routinely taking humanitarian action before a disaster or health emergency happens, making full use of scientific information on all timescales.
Advocacy
The Red Cross and Red Crescent never works in isolation. Partnerships are more important than ever in the context of global warming.
Communications
The global climate is changing and the past no longer explains the present.
Community risk reduction
The Red Cross and Red Crescent has traditionally focused on response. But now other aspects, including risk reduction, are also given priority.
Youth
Red Cross Red Crescent youth take action to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Getting started
The Red Cross Red Crescent has a growing body of experience working on addressing climate change. Here’s how to use it to get started.
Take a look at Red Cross Red Crescent climate change activities on the worldmap
