Lisbon, 14 Dec 2023, 12 pm
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Your Excellency, President of the Republic,
Mr. Speaker,
Madame Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
Madame Chair of the Portuguese Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
Distinguished members of the parliament,
Chairwoman of the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre,
Distinguished co-laurate representing the Association of Ukrainian Cities,
Members of the diplomatic corps, ladies and gentlemen,
I speak to you today, representing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC. As its Chair, it’s a great professional privilege and a personal honour to receive the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe in the name of the thousands of scientists who have contributed to IPCC’s work over the last 35 years.
I should also acknowledge the Ukrainian scientists who continued to contribute to IPCC’s work during virtual meetings under the most extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
Our scientists have generously contributed their expertise and their time to deliver the most important and authoritative scientific assessments of our planet’s climate, laying out pathways for adaptation and means of mitigating climate change. Our assessment reports deliver up-to-date, robust scientific findings. They can empower policymakers in all countries and at all levels to shape climate policies and climate action.
For us, today’s prize is an important recognition of this collective and truly global undertaking – one that brings together scientists from developing and developed countries to jointly assess the science related to climate change. We are grateful to the Jury for recognizing this.
Thank you.
The unique recognition comes on the back of the 28th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai which concluded just 24 hours ago. There, reports from the IPCC’s most recent assessment cycle fed directly into the Global Stocktake – the first, critically important assessment under the 2015 Paris Agreement of the progress countries have made in addressing climate. The path-breaking references to transitioning away from fossil fuels builds directly on IPCC’s work. Climate change science plays a pivotal part in determining the outcome of negotiations between 198 member states.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The voice of science is clear. Its message is unequivocal. Climate change is caused by human activities, it is widespread, it is rapid, and it is intensifying. The changes that we witness are of a magnitude unprecedented over centuries and thousands of years. Every part of the world is affected, and some impacts – such as the continued rise in sea levels – are irreversible.
Current trends in greenhouse gas emissions and climate action are incompatible with a sustainable, equitable world. Over a century of burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and unsustainable use of resources has led to a global warming of 1.1 degrees Celsius. As a result, we witness greater and more frequent temperature extremes, and more intense and more extreme weather events.
Climate change is an imminent threat to the health of our planet, our livelihoods, our well-being, and indeed the very existence of other species sharing this world with us. It is an existential threat for small island states and low-lying coastal areas. It warrants an urgent response. Losses and damages inflicted by climate change are now a reality and part of our future.
Scientific evidence also clearly shows that those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change contribute, and have contributed the least, to warming.
The lives and livelihoods of over 3 billion people living across large parts of Africa, South Asia, Central and South America, small islands and the Arctic are threatened. As is obvious, these are mainly in the global South. Given global interdependence, and the defence of global solidarity and partnership recognised by the prize we are receiving today, this is a particularly relevant point.
Only deep, rapid and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors can limit global warming to 1.5°C in this century. In our most recent reports, we showed that the only way to keep this goal within reach is to cut emissions by almost half by 2030 – just six years away – and reaching net zero CO2 emissions in mid-century.
But science can also deliver a message of hope. Our actions now can make a difference for hundreds and even thousands of years. We cannot afford to be paralysed by the complexity and the scale of the challenge. We do have the agency to determine the future, for ourselves and for the generations coming after us. The next few years will be critical, and there are ways to improve our chances of success. We have the technologies, the tools and the knowledge required to limit global warming.
It is encouraging that more and more countries are taking climate action. Some countries and cities have already shown what is possible, and have experienced sustained emissions reductions. These have begun to bend the trend in the emissions curve, even if we have yet to see a peak in global emissions. But all of these efforts – policy development and implementation, legislation, institution and capacity building, financing, the adoption of renewable energy sources and new technologies – need to be mainstreamed and scaled up worldwide.
We live in diverse societies in a diverse world, and we have common but differentiated responsibilities and opportunities to bring about these changes. Some can do a lot, while others will need support to help them manage the change. Transformative changes are more likely to succeed where there is trust, where everyone works together to prioritise risk reduction, and where benefits and burdens are shared equitably. This will be possible only if climate action is, and is perceived to be, genuinely and fundamentally fair and inclusive.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The vision for IPCC during the remainder of this critical decade for climate action is clear. We will use the best available science to deliver focused, policy-relevant reports and provide timely and actionable information to policymakers.
And, to achieve these goals, we are sparing no effort to ensure a truly inclusive, diverse and representative IPCC.
As we start on new cycle of assessments, the seventh cycle, we are committed to ensuring a balance of opportunity, a balance of responsibility, and a balance of recognition.
It means ensuring that the ranks of our authors are representative, both across and within regions. It means a balance between developed and developing countries. And the way we conduct our assessment activities can help build academic and scientific capacity amongst under-represented regions and nations.
It also means a balance between women and men. We will continue to encourage governments to nominate more women scientists.
Lastly, we are expanding efforts to bring into the fold and formalise roles for early-career scientists from developing countries as IPCC chapter scientists. We are fostering opportunities to build a network of early career scientists through engaging the current cohort of IPCC scholarship recipients.
Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Science is and will remain the foundation of efforts to tackle climate change. For all IPCC scientists, national focal points and staff – today’s prize is an important acknowledgement and encouragement. And for that, we are extremely grateful.
Thank you.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been declared a co-laureate of the 2022 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe together with the Association of Ukrainian Cities.
IPCC was selected by the Jury “… in recognition of its crucial work in raising awareness about the pressing need to globally act against greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change that affect all humanity”. The North-South Prize jury selected IPCC and the Association of Ukranian Cities out of 18 nominations.
“It is a great professional privilege and a personal honor to receive the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe in the name of the thousands of scientists who have contributed to IPCC’s work over the past 35 years,” said IPCC Chair Jim Skea when receiving the award in Lisbon on 14 December 2023.
“For us, today’s prize is an important recognition of this collective and truly global undertaking – one that brings together scientists from developing and developed countries to jointly assess the science related to climate change. We are grateful to the Jury for recognizing this.”
The North-South Prize is awarded each year since 1995 to two candidates (activists, personalities, or organizations) who have stood out for their exceptional commitment to promoting North-South solidarity.
The Chair of the IPCC Jim Skea received the award on behalf of the IPCC at a ceremony on 14 December 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.
30 November 2023, Dubai, Unites Arab Emirates
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Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to address the opening of COP28 on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC. We are thankful to the UEA government and UNFCCC for their careful preparation of this conference and generous hospitality.
IPCC’s scientific assessments are ever clearer and more certain about climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
Our planet has warmed by more than 1 degrees Celsius since the preindustrial era, as the result of burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and unsustainable use of resources.
Human activity has led to changes to Earth’s climate of a magnitude unprecedented over centuries and thousands of years. Climate impacts, some of them irreversible, are widespread, rapid and intensifying, from the poles to the tropics, from the mountains to the oceans.
Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, we will not meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The UNEP Gap Report released a few days ago shows that we are headed towards global warming of 3 degrees Celsius if we carry on with current policies. And let us not forget gaps in terms of adaptation and financing.
But there are some promising signs of climate action. In some countries. there have been sustained emissions reductions. These have helped to bend the rising trend in emissions globally. In the past decade, there have been sustained decreases in the costs of renewable energy.
Our assessments have identified multiple options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. These can be implemented right now. But they need to be scaled up and mainstreamed through policies and increased financing.
The IPCC is now gearing up for the seventh assessment cycle.
In less than two months, our 195 member governments will take decisions on the Programme of Work for the rest of this decade of climate action. Our aspiration is to make effective use of the best available science to deliver focused, policy-relevant reports, and to do so in an inclusive fashion that represents all perspectives.
As the Chair of the IPCC, I can reassure you that the scientific community is poised, using the resources available to it, to support the outcomes of COP 28 in shaping climate action based on science. But let us recall, science by itself is no substitute for action.
Thank you.
ENDS
GENEVA, Nov 28 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is planning a strong presence at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP28 runs from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The IPCC Chair, Jim Skea, will address the high-level opening on the first day of the conference on 30 November and the plenary session of the Earth Information Day on 3 December. The IPCC Secretary, Abdalah Mokssit, will address the delegates at the opening plenary of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) on 30 November.
The first Global Stocktake, a process in which countries take inventory of the progress made towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement will be taking place during COP28. IPCC´s Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report released in March 2023 is one of the direct and critical scientific inputs to this process.
On 4 December, the IPCC will host an official UNFCCC side event on the findings of the Sixth Assessment Report in the context of recent developments and panellists will also look ahead to the scientific challenges of the IPCC´s seventh assessment cycle.
On the same day, the IPCC’s Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI), together with the UNFCCC Secretariat and other partners will host a side event on the key tools supported by the UNFCCC Secretariat to strengthen the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. The TFI will be presenting the IPCC inventory software.
Together with the World Meteorological Organization, MERI Foundation and other partners, the IPCC will run a pavilion named “Science for Climate Action” with a rich program of scientific panels and events. Detailed information about the IPCC events at COP28 pavilion and livestreaming can be found here.
To request an interview with the IPCC Chair, Vice-Chairs, Co-Chairs, or other IPCC authors present at COP28 please email ipcc-media@wmo.int.
For more information please contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516 or Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120
Notes for editors
What is 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 political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. It has 195 member states.
Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, experts volunteer their time as IPCC authors to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.
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.
About the Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Taskforce Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provides direct scientific input to the first global stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The Working Group III contribution, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was released on 4 April 2022 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distills and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including videos about the IPCC and video recordings from outreach events conducted as webinars or live-streamed events.
Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our YouTube channel.
One Planet Polar Summit, Ministerial segment.
Paris, 09 Nov 2023,
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Excellencies, ministers, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my privilege to address you as the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC.
I’m grateful to the French Government for the opportunity to address the One Planet Polar Summit.
The IPCC is a unique interface between scientists and policymakers. Earlier this year, we completed the Sixth Assessment Report. Its findings are sobering.
We concluded that that human influence is unequivocally causing climate change. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during this century unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Our planet has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius, and even more in the polar regions.
Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands of years and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years. Changes in the polar regions ripple across the whole planet.
In our Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, we showed that sea levels rose by around 15 cm during the 20th century, and are currently rising at more than twice that rate. We showed that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass since the 1990s; that we have been losing Arctic sea ice since the 1970s; and that glaciers are in retreat. While uncertainties remain, we can be sure that these trends will continue and further risks, such as permafrost degradation, may emerge.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These and other key scientific findings point to the urgency of climate action. We have agency; we have the policies, the know-how, and the financial resources to shape our future. An equitable and just transition is essential, building on climate action that is, and is perceived to be, genuinely and fundamentally fair and inclusive.
In closing, as the Chair of the IPCC I can reassure you that the scientific community will continue to bring new knowledge and understanding relevant for shaping policies.
Thank you.
Working Group III (WGIII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is filling the position of
Deadline extended till 20 December 2023.
IPCC prepares comprehensive and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical, and socio-economic information needed to further understand the scientific basis of climate change, potential impacts, and options for mitigation and adaptation. WGIII assesses climate mitigation options (click here for more information). For the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) cycle, the U.S. Global Change Research Program is funding a Technical Support Unit (TSU) to provide technical and administrative services in direct support of the elected IPCC WGIII Co-Chairs. To enhance efficiency, the WGIII TSU is distributed – with nodes at the USGCRP office in Washington DC; at partner entities in Asheville, NC, and elsewhere in the United States; and around the globe, e.g., co-located with the developing country co-chair in Malaysia. ICF administers the TSU-Washington node.
The Technical Specialist provides professional level support to the WGIII TSU management team, providing complex organizational and logistical support for scientific report preparation, large international meetings, nominations and review processes, in-person and remote chapter conferencing, volunteer chapter scientist and Review Editor coordination, and web content administration and maintenance. Also undertakes special projects as requested by the IPCC WGIII TSU Head.
Key Responsibilities
Scientific Report Preparation: Collaborates with the Working Group III Co-Chairs and TSU staff in supporting the scientific assessment process. Interacts with authors to monitor progress, identify problems, and develop strategies to resolve issues; facilitates collection and sharing of information among report authors; and manages peer review logistics. Maintains on-line resources in consultation with the TSU Head, IT staff, and web developers. Expert at spreadsheet configuration/manipulation.
Scientific Report Coordination: Serves as point-of-contact with Review Editor cadre for WGIII-led assessments to provide information on roles and responsibilities, and to manage RE deliverables. Also provides organizational and logistical support as TSU liaison to the Volunteer Chapter Scientist contingent recruited for WGIII-led reports.
Web Maintenance: Works with the TSU-Asheville node to maintain the author portal and other web-based tools. Serves as primary interface with IPCC Secretariat staff to implement and test web solutions for nominations and review systems. Receives and responds to general enquiries sent to the TSU.
Budget Management: Helps administer a USGCRP travel fund to facilitate the participation of non-Federal U.S. scientists in international assessment activities. Maintains audit trails and ensures equitable application of funds.
Skills and Competencies
Minimum Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
Application Information
This is a term position through 30 April 2026, with the possibility of extension. Employment is through ICF, a global advisory and technology services provider. Since a hybrid working arrangement, preference will be given to candidates within the Washington DC metropolitan area.
If interested in the position, apply directly by uploading your CV and motivation letter to the ICF Career Portal. If you have questions, you may contact the WGIII TSU Head (David Dokken) at <tsu@ipcc-wg3.gov> or ICF via the chat feature in the ICF Career Portal. This job posting will be open until 20 December 2023.
Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner, former Co-Chair of IPCC’s Working Group II received the prestigious 2023 Planetary Health Award from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation on 27 October at the ceremony held in Philadelphia.
Addressing the 2023 laureates, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco said that the Foundation’s Awards for Planetary Health recognize “their remarkable achievements in favor of conservation, science, and sustainable innovation”, adding that this recognition also celebrates the individual paths they have chosen and the importance of a multi-player approach in tackling environmental issues.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude for being awarded with the Planetary Health Award of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, accepting the prize. He stressed that he was receiving the award on behalf of the entire team of authors contributing to the IPCC Working Group II report released in 2022 and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere released in 2019.
“The IPCC’s sixth assessment cycle has come to an end, and I am happy to say that the 2019 Ocean and Cryosphere Special Report has made a significant contribution to this cycle. It has also been a stepping stone on the way to making the Ocean more visible in the climate negotiations at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which now has a formal Ocean Dialogue at each of its meetings”, said Pörtner.
As co-laureate, Dr. Pörtner was awarded alongside UK-based climate justice activist, storyteller, writer, and advocate for slow fashion, Dominique Palmer, and U.S-based mycelium technology company Ecovactive. Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner co-led the IPCC’s Working Group II during the sixth assessment cycle and was jointly responsible for the IPCC’s three special reports on 1.5 °C Global Warming, Land, and Ocean and the Cryosphere. From 2007 to 2014, he was a Lead Author and Coordinating Lead Author of the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports. In October 2015 he was elected Co-Chair of IPCC’s Working Group II.
Dr. Pörtner has been conducting research as a physiologist and ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany for more than 25 years. Together with his team, he investigates how ocean warming, ocean acidification, and the increasing lack of oxygen are affecting vital biochemical processes in marine life. He is an elected member of the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC) and a member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU).
Since 2008, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Planetary Health Awards have been recognizing individuals and organizations who have shown outstanding commitments toward the preservation of the Earth.
It is with profound sadness that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has learned of the death of Professor Saleemul Huq who passed away on 28 October in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr Saleemul Huq was part of the author team of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Assessment Reports of the IPCC, spanning from 1997 to 2014.
He was an expert in the fields of climate change, environment, and development. His work focused on ways to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects from the perspective of Least Developing Countries (LDCs). He attended all the sessions of the Conferences of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) until he passed away. He played an active role as the adviser on adaptation, loss and damage and climate finance to the LDC group of negotiators in the UNFCCC. At the COP27 of the UNFCCC held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Dr Huq was instrumental to reaching the agreement on the establishment of a loss and damage fund, on which he has been working for many years.
Dr. Huq was honored with the Order of the British Empire for his efforts to combat climate change in the 2022 New Year Honors. He published hundreds of scientific as well as popular articles and was recognized as one of the top twenty global influencers on climate change policy in 2019. At the time of his passing, he was the director of the Dhaka-based International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), an organization he founded. He was also a Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment & Development (IIED) based in the UK and Senior Adviser on Locally Led Adaptation with Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA).
Born on October 2, 1952, he grew up in Europe, Asia, and Africa following his parents’ diplomatic postings. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1970s to study at Imperial College London, where he obtained his doctorate in botany in 1978.
Dr Huq is survived by his wife, Kashana Huq; a son, Saqib Huq and a daughter, Sadaf Huq.
He will be greatly missed by his colleagues at IPCC, UNFCCC, and the climate change community in his home country and worldwide.
Photo credit: ©ICCCAD
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) is calling on its member governments and observer organizations to nominate experts who will draft the outline of the special report on climate change and cities. Nominations should be submitted by 17 November 2023.
Participants to the scoping meeting should have collective expertise in:
The meeting to discuss the draft outline will be held in 2024. The draft outline will be submitted to the panel for approval before the authors teams can be selected to work on the report.
More information on the preparation of IPCC reports, including the scoping process is available from the IPCC Principles and Procedures.
Those interested in being nominated as an expert for participation at the scoping meeting should contact the relevant Focal Point. A list of Focal Points for IPCC member governments and observer organizations is available here.
Nominations are submitted through the online nomination tool here .
For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Working Group III (WGIII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is filling the position of
Deadline extended till 7 January 2024.
IPCC prepares comprehensive and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical, and socio-economic information needed to further understand the scientific basis of climate change, potential impacts, and options for mitigation and adaptation. WGIII assesses climate mitigation options (click here for more information). For the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) cycle, the U.S. Global Change Research Program is funding a Technical Support Unit (TSU) to provide technical and administrative services in direct support of the elected IPCC WGIII Co-Chairs. To enhance efficiency, the WGIII TSU is distributed – with nodes at the USGCRP office in Washington DC; at partner entities in Asheville, NC, and elsewhere in the United States; and around the globe, e.g., co-located with the developing country co-chair in Malaysia. ICF administers the TSU-Washington node.
The Head of Science provides senior-level scientific leadership for WGIII assessment programs; works with, and under the guidance of, the WGIII Co-Chairs to structure, summarize, and disseminate key findings generated by and during the assessment process; and provides scientific direction to TSU staff in support of IPCC-wide commitments. The Head of Science also works closely with the TSU Head to ensure that scientific and logistical coordination effectively support WGIII priorities. Major efforts involve scoping, preparation, and review of the WGIII contribution to the AR7 and any Special Reports under its purview, and the organization and documentation of expert meetings and workshops that support the process. The Head of Science interacts directly with the WGIII Co-Chairs and manages assigned projects and workflow for the science staff both in Washington DC and abroad.
Key Responsibilities
Scientific Leadership: Advises the WGIII Co-Chairs and WGIII Bureau on broad goals of assessment programs and on scientific needs and directions that affect the work plan. Provides strategic scientific leadership to define the emphasis and content of WGIII deliverables. Manages development of summary documentation on behalf of the WGIII Co-Chairs, including the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) and Technical Summary (TS) of WGIII-led reports.
Scientific Management: Directs TSU staff in all scientific aspects of WGIII deliverables. Leads WGIII efforts to coordinate scientific issues with sister working groups and with other cross-disciplinary programs. Helps ensure that WGIII products are accurate, balanced, and comprehensive; that the assessments reflect the current state-of-the-science and maintain the highest scientific standards; and that development adheres to IPCC rules and procedures.
Scientific Outreach: Troubleshoots issues arising during reviews of draft material, negotiating solutions between the source and relevant lead authors – requiring an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and refined interpersonal skills. Presents WGIII goals, objectives, activities, and findings to an array of audiences, including scientific organizations, governments, environment and industry groups, and other interested stakeholders.
Skills and Competencies
• Expert knowledge of the theory and practice of environmental assessment as applied to climate mitigation science and scenarios.
• Expert understanding of scientific/technical concepts in support of multidisciplinary research activities.
• Expert knowledge of environmental, social, and economic vulnerabilities to climate change.
• Advanced skill in acquiring and interpreting information from a wide range of sources to promote program objectives.
• Advanced skill in establishing and maintaining good communications and working relationships with an extensive network of leading scientists.
• Substantial negotiation and interpersonal communications skills to work with diverse, highly opinionated individuals and groups in a charged political environment.
• Advanced ability to be an effective advocate of the program to the scientific community (international and domestic).
• Advanced project management, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced writing skills, for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong public speaking skills to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to handle confidential/sensitive information in a manner consistent with ICF policy, and an ability to act in a professional manner consistent with the “USGCRP Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility” statement.
• Willingness to travel (including international destinations).
Minimum Qualifications
Ph.D. in social or natural science discipline relevant to climate science, plus ten or more years’ experience conducting research on climate mitigation. Preference given if five or more years’ direct experience in international assessment activities, working with the IPCC process and/or scientific management of large multidisciplinary groups.
Application Information
This is a term position through 30 April 2026, with the possibility of extension. Employment is through ICF, a global advisory and technology services provider. This is an international search process, with the possibility of a remote or hybrid working arrangement, provided ICF has an existing presence in the country of origin. If comparable qualifications, preference will be given to candidates within the Eastern Time Zone and/or Washington DC metropolitan area.
If interested in the position, apply directly by uploading your CV and motivation letter to the ICF Career Portal. If you have questions, you may contact the WGIII TSU Head (David Dokken) at <tsu@ipcc-wg3.gov> or ICF via the chat feature in the ICF Career Portal. This job posting will be open until 7 January 2024.