ACDI convenes expert panel on IPCC Special Report on 1.5 degrees Celsius of Global Warming
Within hours of the release of the IPCC's much awaited Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees on 8 October - which calls for "rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities, with global net human-caused emissions of CO2 falling by roughly 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 … to net zero around 2050," - the ACDI convened a panel of local experts to discuss the implications of the report's key findings for southern Africa.
ACDI Deputy Director Sheona Shackleton moderated the discussion, and the panelists were:
- Anton Cartwright - Economist - African Centre for Cities, UCT, Lead Author Chapter 4 of the IPCC Special Report
- Prabhat Upadhyaya - Senior Policy Analyst, Climate and Energy, WWF - South Africa
- John Duncan - Head of Responsible Investment, Old Mutual
- Tasneem Essop - Energy Democracy Initiative
- Mark New - Pro-Vice Chancellor for Climate Change, UCT, and Director of the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI)
- Harald Winkler - Director, Energy Research Centre, UCT
Each panelist reviewed one chapter of the report, and put forward their ideas for how this would impact southern Africa and the continent as a whole. They also discussed the differential impacts of 1.5 degrees vs 2 degrees Celsius.
The event was attended by over 50 climate change researchers, energy consultants and practitioners, who broke away into small groups to brainstorm various ways in which the report could galvanise transformative action to keep warming below 1.5 degrees.
A short video of this panel discussion can be viewed on our Youtube channel here.