The world’s understanding of climate change has improved exponentially thanks to science, technology and the dedication of some of the world’s top climate scientists.
Get to know some of the female climate scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and their unique contributions to the understanding of the state of our planet and the solutions to the climate crisis.
Kathryn Bowen
Lead Author: Health Impacts
“Many risks for human health and well-being could be reduced and some potentially avoided if we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen our adaptation responses, particularly so that these adaptation responses are proactive, timely and effective.”
Aditi Mukherji
Coordinating Lead Author: Water Security
“Water can be a part of the solution. Of all the adaptation measures that have been assessed, almost 60% of those are happening in response to water-related hazards or the intervention itself is water related such as irrigation, soil moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting, etc.”
Rawshan Ara Begum
Coordinating Lead Author: Climate Finance
“Poor and least developed countries are most affected due to climate change and they are least responsible for its causes. These countries receive relatively little financial support for adaptation. International climate financing needs more attention to adaptation investment for managing climate risks and impacts in these developed and many developing countries.”
Sherilee Harper
Lead Author: Indigenous Knowledge
“Indigenous knowledge is so critical to our understanding of climate change and how it's impacted our environment, our health and our society and overall our lives and really importantly how we can effectively respond to these impacts.”
Yukiko Hirabayashi
Lead Author: Water Hazards
“Asia, including Japan, is one of the regions where water-related hazards will continue to increase by the mid- to end of the 21st century, with greater risk at higher warming levels, implying that mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions as well as adequate action to adapt to the change is required.”
Rita Adrian
Lead Author: Biodiversity
“Climate warming and extreme droughts reinforce the fragmentation of rivers already brought about by dam building, increasing the threat for migrating fish species. The loss of wetlands and ponds are major threats for freshwater species losses.”
Gretta Pecl
Lead Author: Coral Bleaching
“There have been three marine heatwaves on the Great Barrier Reef over the 2016 to 2020 time period and there is very high confidence that these events have caused significant bleaching and loss, including consecutive occurrences of the most severe bleaching in recorded history.”
Marie-Fanny Racault
Lead Author: Oceans
“Warming has greatly impacted life in European Seas. We have already observed decreases in suitable habitat space, and northward shifts in the distribution of marine species, and these impacts are projected to become more severe with increasing global warming. The good news is there are actions we can take to help these ecosystems adapt. Measures such as habitat restoration and protection, can increase the resilience of marine ecosystems and their services.”
Michelle Mycoo
Coordinating Lead Author: Small Islands
“Small Island States are facing an existential threat due to climate change impacts that they are experiencing now and are likely to experience in the future if global carbon emissions continue to rise. It means that we do need to take urgent action and the action would need to be taken now to protect the future of small island states.”
Shobha Maharaj
Lead Author: Climate Data
“Despite the high vulnerability of Small Islands to climate change, we still don't have enough up-to-date climate model data that can be applied to Small Islands. This perpetuates a vicious cycle.”
Elham Ali
Lead Author: Climatic Risks
“The Mediterranean region is a hotspot for highly interconnected climatic risks. The low lying areas, especially those suffering from land subsidence, are much more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, salt intrusion. This impacts agricultural yield, which with other impacted sectors like fisheries, forests and tourism, are the main economic sectors in the region.”
Rupa Mukerji
Lead Author: Climate and Poverty
“The people who are most at risk from the impacts of climate change are the poor. Those who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods live in more risk prone areas. Climate change is a stress multiplier in these situations. The responses to climate change can help in addressing poverty, and poverty reduction can be one of the most important responses to deal with the impacts of climate change. So the two are intrinsically linked.”
