From the Acting President

Where do we go from here?

“The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.”

So ends the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group II Summary for Policymakers, published in March 2022.

Read that quote again.

It is a remarkably strong, stark statement, particularly given that IPCC Summaries for Policymakers are adopted by consensus. Any nation could have weakened the statement. None did. The scientific evidence is too strong and the stakes are too high.

The first IPCC Assessment Report was published in 1992. Each report synthesizes vast amounts of scientific research, and in each report the evidence becomes stronger, the uncertainty is reduced, and the call to action grows louder.

As I read and reread the above quote, I’m left wondering how future IPCC Assessment Reports will conclude. AR6’s warning is remarkably clear and urgent. Though the scientific evidence will continue to accumulate, it seems to me that there is little room left to turn up the volume on the call to action.

“Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity.” As climate scientists we are blessed and cursed with the knowledge of what the future holds if society doesn’t act with great urgency “to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” This knowledge creates responsibility. Morality demands action.

At Woodwell Climate Research Center, we recognize the urgency and understand that we must be willing to take bold steps to combat the climate crisis. That is why we are launching new initiatives to accelerate climate progress, redoubling our efforts to understand and protect Earth’s most consequential environments, and deepening our commitment to making the path forward more inclusive and equitable.

We are able to take bold steps in part because of the Fund for Climate Solutions, Woodwell’s internal funding mechanism which allows us to chart our own course and set our own priorities. Combating climate change requires all hands on deck, and we are extremely grateful to all of our partners and supporters who make it possible for us to undertake this vital work.

“To secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” This is the work of Woodwell Climate Research Center. This vision is what drives us, what keeps us going, why we stay in the fight in spite of what sometimes feels like long odds and frustratingly slow progress. This is what I think of when I look at my children and think of their futures, and what I think of when I travel to remote communities around the world who bear little responsibility for climate change yet face the worst of its impacts.

We at Woodwell Climate can see the possible futures. Together with our partners and supporters, we will do everything possible to motivate and enable the urgent action needed to successfully pass through the “rapidly closing window of opportunity” to meet the climate challenge.

Finally, as I near the end of my time as Acting President of Woodwell Climate Research Center and look forward to Phil Duffy’s return from his position as climate advisor in the White House, I want to thank all of you who have supported me and Woodwell Climate during this remarkable year. I never could have imagined—nor do I feel worthy of—being on a list that includes George Woodwell, John Holdren, Skee Houghton, and Phil Duffy, all brilliant and visionary leaders. Regardless, I’ve given it my all, and will keep doing so.

Onward.