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Call for experts, climate change and land

09.05.2017

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is currently requesting that governments, observer organizations and IPCC Bureau Members nominate coordinating lead authors, lead authors and review editors for the IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.

During the 45th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-45), held on 28-31 March 2017 in Guadalajara, Mexico, several decisions were adopted that will shape the outcomes of the sixth assessment cycle, including the adoption of the outlines of two special reports: on climate change and land, and on oceans and cryosphere in a changing climate.

The special report on climate change and land, titled ‘Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems’, will document existing scientific knowledge on the linkages between climate change and land, of relevance to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (climate action) and SDG 15 (life on land).

The chapters will address: land-climate interactions; desertification; land degradation; food security; interlinkages between desertification, land degradation, food security and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes; and risk management and decision making in relation to sustainable development. Nearly every chapter will include a reference to the limits of adaptation and residual risks, in response to the requests of several countries for the inclusion of loss and damage.

To submit nominations, governments, observer organizations and IPCC Bureau Members are invited to use the online nominations tool. Each nomination should be accompanied by a summary CV (maximum four pages) in English, and experts can be nominated for a maximum of three chapters. Interested experts should contact their IPCC national focal points for more information about nomination. The deadline to submit nominations for authors and review editors for the special report on climate change and land is Wednesday, 17 May 2017 (midnight CEST).

To ensure the inclusion of mountains in the special report, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) encourages mountain climate change experts to contact their IPCC national focal points for information about being nominated. “Mountain peoples and ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As the IPCC produces the world’s foremost publications on climate change, the inclusion of mountains in this IPCC special report will help to increase awareness of these impacts as well as public and private sector attention, commitment, engagement and investments to increase the resilience and adaptive capacity of mountains,” said Rosalaura Romeo of the MPS.

IPCC call for authors and review editors 
Outline of the special report on climate change and land 
Read more 

Photo: FAO/Giulio Napolitano