According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), anthropogenic activities have contributed to 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. Climate-related risks are expected to increase as global warming proceeds to 1.5°C depending on the magnitude and rate of warming, geographic location, levels of development and vulnerability as well as the choices of climate actions. Countries in the tropics are projected to experience the largest impacts on economic growth due to climate change as global warming increases from 1.5°C to 2°C. The highest increases in temperature extremes and number of hot days as well as heavy precipitation associated with tropical cyclones are projected for the region. The tropics will be disproportionately impacted by climate change. This makes the case for unprecedented actions for ambitious emission reduction in all sectors. The post Covid-19 economic recovery plans offer an opportunity to enable unparalleled investment in low carbon options to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

PROF. DR. JOY JACQUELINE PEREIRA, FASc.

Professor Pereira is Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 2 on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. She was Coordinating Lead Author for the Asia Chapter of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report released in March 2014; Review Editor for the 2012 IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (IPCC-SREX); and Lead Author for the IPCC-AR5 Synthesis Report. Prof. Pereira is also a Member of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Asia Pacific Science, Technology and Academic Group (APSTAAG), which supports governments in science-based decision making to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. She is a Director of the Asian Network on Climate Science and Technology (ANCST), working closely with University of Cambridge.