Statement by John P. Holdren on Approval of the IPCC's 5th Assessment Synthesis Report

Statement by Dr. John P. Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, on the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5^th Assessment Synthesis Report:

"The IPCC’s new Synthesis Report is yet another wake-up call to the global community that we must act together swiftly and aggressively in order to stem climate change and avoid its worst impacts.

The report summarizes the contents of five IPCC studies released over the past 12 months and reinforces, in a global context, the conclusions of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment, released by the Obama Administration in May of this year. These studies—the most comprehensive and detailed ever—confirm that climate change caused by human activities is having impacts on ecosystems and human well-being across the United States and around the world.

The new IPCC report underscores the need to fully implement President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, including continued engagement with other countries on ambitious emissions-reductions targets and the policies and technologies necessary to achieve them."

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