The Cross-Chapter Paper on ‘Mountains’, featured in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 WGII Climate report ‘Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’, was first approved by the Panel on 28 February 2022 and published in its final formatted version in August 2022.

The paper assesses climate change impacts and risks, vulnerability as well as barriers and options for adaptation and climate resilient development in mountain regions. This is the first time in almost 30 years that ‘mountains’ have a dedicated space in the IPCC reports.

Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) Executive Director Dr. Carolina Adler served as the Co-Lead of the Cross-Chapter Paper on Mountains alongside ICIMOD’s Dr. Philippus Wester. MRI Principal InvestigatorProf. Christian Huggel was also a member of the author team, with the assessment effort counting on the immense efforts of the eight Lead Authors, Chapter Scientist, and the support of many Contributing Authors from across the mountain research community around the world, including from the MRI network.

"Like a canary in the mine, mountains offer a specific context in which to observe complex and dynamic global change phenomena, such as climate change, manifesting in rapid and tangible ways,” says Dr. Adler. “The IPCC's focus on mountains in AR6 has been a unique opportunity for us as a research community to make steadfast efforts for research collaboration and connection on this global topic of much importance.”

Broader Scope, Wider Assessment

While the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC)  featured a chapter on high mountain cryosphere, this paper is the first in almost 30 years of IPCC’s history to present a broader scope on the impacts and adaptation to climate change in mountain regions. It also provides a wider assessment of the challenges, opportunities, and the solutions space for adaptation in mountains.

“The importance of mountain regions has been neglected for far too long in global assessments,” says Dr. Wester. “Covering around a quarter of the Earth’s land surface and home to close to 1.3 billion people, it’s very timely to see the Cross-Chapter Paper on Mountains published. Our assessment finds that the impacts of climate change in mountain regions have increased in recent decades and are already having serious consequences for people and ecosystems. The urgent need for action cannot be stated more clearly.”  

What Does This Chapter Mean for Our Changing Mountains?

The paper states that climate change impacts have been documented in mountains on all continents, affecting almost 1.28 billion people who reside in and around mountain areas worldwide. A wide range of human and natural systems have been affected, including the cryosphere, water resources, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, agriculture, tourism, energy production, infrastructure, health and well-being, migration, disasters, and community and cultural values.

Click the arrows below to scroll left and right and explore some of the high-level key findings from the Cross-Chapter Paper on ‘Mountains’.

Source: Working Group Two (WGII) Mountains Factsheet, IPCC AR6 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability

Download the IPCC Working Group Two CCP Mountains Factsheet

Download the Common Regional Changes in Mountains Factsheet   

The paper also highlights key areas of research that are needed to address important knowledge gaps, providing a useful springboard for ongoing and future assessment efforts by the mountain research community. Building on previous assessments, while improving our knowledge base, is key to substantiating options for decision-making and action.

Pathways for a Climate-resilient Future

As the paper makes clear, adaptation action is evident but the current pace, depth, and scope of adaptation are insufficient to address future risks in mountain regions, particularly at higher warming levels. Now more than ever, urgent, accelerated action is needed for these mountain regions to adapt to climate change.

The figure above shows examples of adaptation options to address the impacts of climate change on mountains (Source:  Adler et al., 2022).

As previously covered in this article reporting on the overall findings of the IPCC WGII contribution to AR6, human-induced climate change has already caused widespread disruption in nature, and affected the lives of billions of people, despite efforts to adapt. All life on Earth is vulnerable to a changing climate. Safeguarding and strengthening nature is key to securing a liveable future and humanity must act now.

Watch the video of Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation & Vulnerability, the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

Mountain-specific Resources

More information, including the report, chapters, summary for policymakers, technical summary, factsheets, and FAQ can be found on the IPCC website.

Learn more 


Citations

Adler, C., P. Wester, I. Bhatt, C. Huggel, G.E. Insarov, M.D. Morecroft, V. Muccione, and A. Prakash, 2022: Cross-Chapter Paper 5: Mountains. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 2273–2318, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.022.

Adler, C., P. Wester, I. Bhatt, C. Huggel, G.E. Insarov, M.D. Morecroft, V. Muccione, and A. Prakash, 2022: Cross-Chapter Paper 5: Mountains Supplementary Material. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Available from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg

IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 3056 pp., doi:10.1017/9781009325844


Cover image by NOAA.

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