FARO, Portugal, Jan 21 – Experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will meet in Faro, Portugal, on 26 January – 1 February 2020 to advance preparations for the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
This will be the third lead author meeting for this report, bringing together around 260 experts from more than 60 countries. The event is hosted by the Government of Portugal and the University of the Algarve.
“IPCC scientists are meeting here to continue their assessment of what the latest science tells us about the impacts of climate change on human and natural systems around the world,” said Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of Working Group II. “This work will help identify the solutions available at the regional and sectoral level to address the challenges of climate change, but also give us insights into how we can create a more equitable, sustainable and just world.”
The meeting in Faro will lead to the preparation of the Second Order Draft of the report which will be circulated for government and expert review in August 2020.
“The meeting in Portugal is an important milestone in the preparations for the next most comprehensive assessment of climate change science,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of Working Group II. “This expert assessment will enrich our knowledge of our vulnerabilities to climate change, but also the capacities and limits of natural and human systems to adapt to it, as well as options for creating a more sustainable future through an integrated approach to mitigation and adaptation at all scales,” he added.
The report will be finalized in 2021. In 2022, a Synthesis Report integrating this report, the other two Working Group contributions, and three recent Special Reports will complete the sixth assessment cycle. It will be released in time to inform the 2023 global stocktake by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), when countries will review progress towards the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to well below 2°C while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
IPCC Working Group II will hold a number of events during the meeting in Faro to which media are invited.
Media briefing and outreach event
H.E. Ricardo Serrão Santos, Minister of Maritime Affairs, and Thelma Krug, IPCC Vice-Chair will address the opening ceremony of the meeting, at 09:00-10:00 on Monday, 27 January, at the Grande Auditório of the Gambelas Campus of the University of the Algarve. Several other representatives of Portuguese authorities and institutions will also address the opening ceremony, namely Paulo Águas, Rector of the University of Algarve; Adelino Canário, Director of the Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR); Miguel Miranda, President of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA); Rogério Bacalhau, President of the Municipality of Faro; and H.E. João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of the Environment and Climate Action (to be confirmed).
Media are invited to the opening ceremony and a media briefing preceding it at 08:00-08:30.
Speakers at the media briefing:
- Thelma Krug, IPCC Vice-Chair
- Youba Sokona, IPCC Vice-Chair
- Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair
- Debra Roberts, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair
Two outreach events will present the work of the IPCC:
The first outreach event, targeting the general public, will take place on the evening of 27 January (21:00-23:30). This event will take the form of an episode of the television programme “Prós e Contras”, which will exceptionally be broadcast live from Faro, Gambelas Campus. It will include the participation of IPCC Vice-Chair Thelma Krug, and authors Maria Lemos and Patricia Pinho, together with high-level representatives of the Portuguese government and several leading Portuguese researchers in climate change. This episode will focus on the emerging challenges of climate change and how society should address it.
The second outreach event will target the Portuguese research community and will take place at 18:00-20:00 on 28 January at the Gambelas Campus, University of the Algarve. This event, to be webcast, will present the work and findings of the IPCC and focus on the future directions of climate change research. It aims to guide and inspire Portuguese researchers into advancing research addressing the questions of tomorrow. IPCC speakers will include:
- Thelma Krug, IPCC Vice-Chair
- Youba Sokona, IPCC Vice-Chair
- Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair
- Debra Roberts, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair
- Bronwyn Hayward, IPCC Coordinating Lead Author
Registration for this event is possible here https://ccmar.ualg.pt/ipcc and more information is available here https://apps.ipcc.ch/outreach/aboutevent.php?q=480 and https://www.ccmar.ualg.pt/en/activity/talking-ipcc-experts
For more information about the media dialogue and interviews go to:
https://apps.ipcc.ch/outreach/aboutevent.php?q=478
For more information contact:
ipcc-media@wmo.int
Office phone: +41 22 730 8142
Notes for editors
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the
UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019 and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate on 25 September 2019.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
Further information about the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, including the outline, the timeline and a link to the author database can be found at www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii .
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch