Abstract:

IPCC released its new assessment report entitled IPCC special report on climate change and land (SRCCL) in August 2019. SRCCL is a joint effort of three IPCC working groups and an integrated assessment of interactive changes of climate and land cover/use, including changing climate on land, climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems and land use, as well as land-based climate change adaptation and mitigation. SRCCL focuses on new understanding on land-climate issues since AR5, with special attention on issues related to desertification, land degradation, and food security. The key findings of SRCCL include: land surface air temperature risen two times faster than the global mean surface temperature, shifting climate regimes in the Arctic and drylands, synergies in response of terrestrial ecosystems and land use to climate change, trade-off between food security and bioenergy in climate change mitigation, and urgent needs for coordinated actions across regions and sectors. It provides clear message for policy makers on risks from potential impacts of global temperature rise on elements of the land system and potential global contribution of response options to mitigation, adaptation, combating desertification and land degradation, and enhancing food security.

Key words: Climate change, Impacts, Land surface process, Climate effects, Ecosystem, Land management