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Statement by John P. Holdren on the IPCC's Working Group Report on Climate-Change Mitigation

Statement by Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Dr. John P. Holdren on the Release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group III Report on climate-change mitigation:

“The facts are clear—the more we and other countries do to curb climate change and prepare for the climate-change impacts that can no longer be avoided, the less suffering will be inflicted on our communities and on our children and grandchildren. 

The IPCC's new report highlights in stark reality the magnitude and urgency of the climate challenge. It shows, even more compellingly than previous studies, that the longer society waits to implement strong measures to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, the more costly and difficult it will become to limit climate change to less than catastrophic levels.

The Obama Administration is committed to leading efforts to address this global challenge, both by example and by persuasion. And through the concrete steps laid out in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, real progress is already being made.

In the last year alone, the Administration has begun the development of new fuel-economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles; set the stage for limiting greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil-fueled power plants; unveiled a national strategy for reducing methane emissions; finalized two sets of energy-efficiency standards; launched a Quadrennial Energy Review process to provide a comprehensive basis for national energy policy, starting with the challenges facing our aging energy infrastructure; and launched a Climate Data Initiative to help communities, businesses, and individuals increase their preparedness for and resilience against climate change.

We are also intensifying our engagement with other countries around the world, in both bilateral and multilateral venues, in order to boost coordination and cooperation on emissions-reductions targets and the policies and technologies for achieving them. This latest IPCC report provides further impetus and guidance for these efforts.”

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Statement by John P. Holdren on Approval of the IPCC's Climate-Impacts Report

Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved its Working Group II report on climate change “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability”— the second installment of the group’s full Fifth Assessment Report. Upon the report’s approval, John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, issued the following statement:

“Climate change is a global threat, touching every region of the world and every sector of the economy.

The IPCC’s new report underscores the need for immediate action in order to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. It reflects scientists’ increased confidence that the kinds of harm already being experienced as a result of climate change are likely to worsen as the world continues to warm.

The report highlights the widespread and substantial observed impacts of climate change, and its growing adverse effects on livelihoods, ecosystems, economies, and human health. Importantly, it also concludes that effective adaptation measures can help build a more resilient global society in the near term and beyond.

The IPCC’s findings reinforce the importance and urgency of work already underway across the U.S. Government to implement President Obama’s Climate Action Plan—with its multipronged focus on reducing U.S. emissions, boosting climate-change preparedness and resilience, and working across borders to develop global solutions.

Today’s approval follows more than five years of collaborative work by hundreds of physical and social scientists from the United States and around the world to comprehensively assess what is known about the global impacts of and vulnerabilities to climate change. More than a dozen U.S. Government researchers contributed to the report and Federal investments enabled many of the peer-reviewed scientific studies that underpin its findings.

I applaud the many expert contributors to this report, which today stands as the most comprehensive and authoritative synthesis of knowledge about global climate-change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability ever generated.

The Obama Administration is committed to continued participation in IPCC activities and to the rigorous use of scientific information as a foundation for action to address the threats from climate change.

I look forward to this Administration’s ongoing collaboration with international partners to finalize the IPCC’s full Fifth Assessment, set for release later this year.”

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