tense climate between science and politics

France CULTURE – ON DEMAND – PODCAST

“The IPCC, another UN thing? » It is under this deliberately provocative title that “LSD, the documentary series” plunges us into the twists and turns of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this United Nations body which tirelessly warns of the worsening of the climate crisis. In four episodes, enhanced with numerous testimonies and archives, producer Alain Lewkowicz shows the battles behind the IPCC consensus machine. It describes the struggles of researchers to establish scientific facts in the face of pressure from polluting States, and their desire to become more involved in society, for lack of being sufficiently heard.

The birth of the IPCC, in 1988, was ambiguous from the start. Its mission is to evaluate and synthesize the state of scientific knowledge on climate change, its causes, its consequences and possible solutions to limit it, with the aim of enlightening political decision-makers.

This institution arose from the meeting between the scientific community and the political world, in particular Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, who wanted to act in the face of the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which we were beginning to model. the consequences on rising temperatures.

Controversial messages

But behind authentic and early political mobilization – the first world conference on the environment dates from 1972 – was also hidden the desire to control scientists suspected of ecological activism.

From there was born a hybrid and unique organization, in which scientists must negotiate in part with government delegations. Members of the IPCC – in English Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – are the States, which elect the office and approve the “summaries for decision-makers” of the reports, line by line, in collaboration with scientists. The objective is to push States to endorse the conclusions.

But if researchers have the last word, controversial messages, particularly on fossil fuels, have sometimes been deleted from the summaries, under pressure from the great powers.

Despite its popularity and credibility, the IPCC is the subject of criticism denouncing the lack of commitment and the weakness of the main messages, in the face of insufficient climate policies. “The actions are not up to the task of respecting our commitments and our commitments are not up to the task of achieving our objectives”summarizes the economist Céline Guivarch, one of the authors of the sixth IPCC report.

Limit the damage

Frustrated by what they perceive as “inaction”, more and more scientists decide to leave their laboratories to take over the agora. “I don’t believe it anymoretestifies ecologist Wolfgang Cramer, also author of the latest report. I wonder about the relevance of still doing science. Neutral speech no longer works. We need to find other ways to engage in society. »

Like him, many white coats have joined the ranks of the Scientists in Rebellion collective, created at the beginning of 2020, which claims 1,900 supporters. Almost every month, they carry out civil disobedience actions to raise awareness: blocking roads, trespassing on the Roissy tarmac or even occupying the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. “What else can we do when we start to be terrified, to have insomnia? »questions ecologist Elodie Vercken. They also call for “say clearly” that there is no longer a credible trajectory to limit warming to 1.5°C, as provided for in the Paris Agreement (2015).

However, action to limit the damage is still possible. In the undergrowth of the Creuse, Alain Lewkowicz takes us to meet activists, notably from the Canopée association, and independent forest managers, who are fighting against clear-cutting of century-old oaks and beeches for the production of wood -energy. Instead of monocultures, they defend forestry “mixed under continuous cover” and the practice of thinning (the harvesting of certain trees), “in order to collect interest and not capital”.

An invigorating and inspiring walk, three weeks before the next world climate conference, COP29, in Azerbaijan, which risks disappointing with its lack of ambition. However, we would have liked the last episode of the podcast to look at other solutions for limiting emissions and adapting to global warming – in energy, buildings or agriculture. The IPCC insists: the options for maintaining a livable world are numerous, effective and available now.