The IPCC reports and HE Geography: opportunities lost and found

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate change education within UK HE Geography has not produced a common curriculum, despite having an obvious set of learning resources, in the form of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report series, which has in many ways structured knowledge and understanding on climate change, its impacts and mitigation globally for several decades. Use of the IPCC reports is devolved to module or course-unit level, and is very varied as a consequence. Examples of alternative approaches to supporting climate change learning with IPCC reports are briefly discussed, before attention is drawn to the relatively new, online Interactive Atlas that was released as part of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. This makes available key datasets from the Working Group 1 (The Physical Science Basis) section of the report. As a highly accessible climate GIS, the Atlas facilitates flexible spatial and temporal analyses of trends and changes in regional impacts that can greatly enrich learning and teaching in the geographical aspects of the intensifying climate crisis. Being entirely free to the end user, and not requiring any specialist IT equipment or training, the Atlas has major benefits, and some potential learning applications are suggested.