WWF-Canada’s Paul Okalik, Nunavut’s first premier, will be in Ottawa and available to discuss how the IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere affects Canada’s north

Toronto, Sept. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Sept. 25, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release a special climate report outlining the impacts and risks of our dramatically changing oceans and cryosphere (snow and ice-covered places).  

It’s a comprehensive look at the threats posed by melting polar regions and glaciers as well as rising sea levels to Inuit communities, ice-dependent species and the people and wildlife along all our coasts and in our high mountains. But the rest of our planet is also at risk — the poles and oceans regulate the entire Earth’s temperature. 

The scientific report will underscore the crisis we face, with already-seen climate impacts to nature and humans increasing in scale, frequency and intensity. While expected to reveal that a certain amount of damage is already locked-in — at the front line of climate change, Canada’s Arctic is warming at three times the global rate — the report will also lay out our options to respond and reduce these deadly threats. It is expected to show how climate, people and nature are linked, and the importance of using nature-based solutions to help us mitigate emissions and adapt to impacts.  

Media availability: WWF-Canada experts will be available to discuss the report and provide Canadian context: 

• Paul Okalik, lead specialist, Arctic and former Nunavut premier (Ottawa) 
• Paul Crowley, vice-president, Arctic (Ottawa) 
• Sigrid Kuehnemund, vice-president, Oceans (St. John’s) 
• Megan Leslie, president and CEO (Toronto) 
   

About the IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate 

Produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change, this and other IPCC reports are the authoritative source of information on climate change, and underpin the international community’s understanding of climate change and related issues. The report will add to knowledge on how climate change is affecting ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems, and is also expected to examine how nature and society must respond to the risks this poses to achieving climate-resilient development. 

This report, as well as other recent IPCC reports, is expected to inject urgency into the process of countries increasing ambition in their national climate plans.  

About World Wildlife Fund Canada 

WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca. 

For more information or to book an interview:

Josh Ostroff, Senior editorial specialist, jostroff@wwfcanada.org, 416-529-2967

Tina Knezevic, Communications specialist, tknezevic@wwfcanada.org, 416-873-8448

Josh Ostroff
WWF-Canada
416-529-2967
jostroff@wwfcanada.org

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