New Head of IPCC Calls For Shift from Science to Solutions

The new chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it’s time for the global scientific body to shift from documenting the impacts of climate change to finding solutions to global warming. Hoesung Lee, a South Korean economist who was chosen by the IPCC last week to replace former chairman Rajendra Pachauri, told the Guardian that the window to begin slashing greenhouse gas emissions is “closing very rapidly” and said that the IPCC must help spur a move toward the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies. He said that while the IPCC, which periodically issues voluminous scientific reports on climate change, had been doing a “fantastic job” of identifying the problem, “I believe the next cycle of the IPCC should be more focused on opportunities and solutions.” Lee said that placing a global price on carbon would be “the most important building block” for reducing CO2 emissions to zero by 2100.