Integrating federal research on global change and climate change

Introduction:

The United States Global Change Research, in cooperation with the Department of State, request expert review of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Global Change Research Program is coordinating the solicitation of comments by U.S. experts to inform development of an integrated set of U.S. Government comments on the report. The Global Change Research Program Office will coordinate collation of U.S. expert comments and the review of the report by panels of Federal scientists and program managers in order to develop a consolidated U.S. Government submission. Expert comments must be received via the internet-based application by Midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, 7 March 2011 to be considered for inclusion in the U.S. Government submission. An expert reviewer may also be asked to participate in the government review organized within his or her own country. In such a case, he/she should submit comments either as an individual or as part of the government review, but not both. 

If you wish to make comments on the draft, but do not want to contribute them as part of the U.S. Government review, please visit the following URL: http://ipcc-wg2.gov/extremes-sr/review/registration/. Visitors to that URL will be able to send an email to request a user name and password as an unsolicited expert reviewer. The IPCC will provide you with a user name and password once it has reviewed each request.

Because the report is still in draft, distribution of the materials for review will be through a password-protected website. This draft will undergo extensive revision based on comments received from many experts and governments. IPCC practice is that drafts of IPCC reports are not published until they are final. In making the document available for review by U.S. experts, we are requesting reviewers to indicate that they understand and will respect this practice.

If you wish to review the draft document, please visit: http://srex.globalchange.gov. There you will find additional instructions about the review process and how to submit comments.

To receive a copy of the draft report for review, you will be asked to register with your first name, last name, institutional affiliation and email address. You will also be asked to accept a user agreement before submitting your request.

Background on the IPCC

The IPCC was established as an intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988. In accordance with its mandate and as reaffirmed in various decisions by the Panel, the major activity of the IPCC is to prepare comprehensive and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical, and socio-economic information for understanding the scientific basis of climate change, potential impacts, and options for mitigation and adaptation. More 

information about the IPCC can be found at http://www.ipcc.ch. 

The IPCC develops a comprehensive assessment spanning all the above topics approximately every six years. In addition to these comprehensive assessments, the IPCC periodically develops Special Reports on specific topics. The Preparation of Special Reports follows the same procedures as for the Assessment Reports. Governments develop and approve plans for reports, and nominate scientists and experts as lead authors and reviewers. Authors prepare the reports, which go through several stages of review, following which member governments at a session of the IPCC accept them. Member governments also approve the executive summaries of the reports (known as a "summary for policy makers") in detail at the time that they accept the overall report. Principles and procedures for the IPCC and its preparation of reports can be found at the following web sites:

• • http://www.ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/extremes-sr/extremes_documents/ipcc-principles-appendix-a.pdf (pdf)
• • http://ipcc.ch/organization/organization_procedures.shtml

Background on the Report

In April 2009, the IPCC approved the development of a special report on "Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX)." The SREX is being developed under the leadership of the IPCC Working Group II. This report will exclusively focus on events and disasters that are related to climate change. The IPCC 4th Assessment Report identified and demonstrated the usefulness of taking a risk perspective in order to identify ways in which civil society can promote sustainable development while reducing the risk of climate-related damages and taking advantage opportunities that climate change will offer. This Special Report aims to assess policies, measures and tools and practice for managing the risk of extreme events to advance effective adaptation.

All IPCC reports go through two broad reviews: a ‘‘first-order draft’’ for experts, 

and a ‘‘second-order draft’’ for experts and governments.  The IPCC Secretariat has informed the U.S. Department of State that the second-order draft of the 

SREX is available for expert and government review on February 7. 

The approved outline of the report has a total of nine chapters. The early sections of the report discusses new dimensions in disaster risk, exposure, vulnerability and resilience, the determinants of risk, and changes in climate extremes and their associated impacts on the natural environment, human systems and ecosystems. The following section of the report discusses risk management at the local, national and international including cross-scale integrations. The report then outlines synergies between disaster risk management and climate adaptation as critical components for a resilient and sustainable future. The report closes with cases studies on extreme events, vulnerable populations and settings, and management approaches.

As part of the U.S. Government Review of the SREX, the U.S. Government is soliciting comments from experts in relevant fields of expertise. The Global Change Research Program will coordinate collection of U.S. expert comments and the review of the report by panels of Federal scientists and program managers in order to develop a consolidated U.S. Government submission. Expert comments received within the comment period will be considered for inclusion in the U.S. Government submission. Instructions for review and submission of comments are available at http://www.globalchange.gov/srexreview. 

To be considered for inclusion in the U.S. Government collation, comments must be received by midnight March 7th, 2011. Comments submitted for consideration as part of the U.S. Government Review should be reserved for that purpose, and not also sent to the IPCC Secretariat as a discrete set of expert comments. Comments should be submitted using the Web-based system at: http://srex.globalchange.gov/.

New Knowledge Towards Solutions

Introduction:

As part of the U.S. Government Review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN), the U.S. Government is soliciting comments from experts in relevant fields of expertise (link to Federal Register Notice). 

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program are coordinating the solicitation of comments by U.S. experts to inform development of an integrated set of U.S. Government comments on the report. The Global Change Research Program and Climate Change Technology Program Offices will coordinate collation of U.S. expert comments and the review of the report by panels of Federal scientists and program managers in order to develop a consolidated U.S. Government submission.  Expert comments must be received via the internet-based application by Midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, 18 July 2010 to be considered for inclusion in the U.S. Government submission. An expert reviewer may also be asked to participate in the government review organized within his or her own country. In such a case, he/she should submit comments either as an individual or as part of the government review, but not both.

Because the report is still in draft, distribution of the materials for review will be through a password-protected website. This draft will undergo extensive revision based on comments received from many experts and governments.  IPCC practice is that drafts of IPCC reports are not published until they are final. In making the document available for review by U.S. experts, we are requesting reviewers to indicate that they understand and will respect this practice. If you wish to review the draft document, please visit: http://srren.globalchange.gov. There you will find additional instructions about the review process and how to submit comments.

To receive a copy of the draft report for review, you will be asked to register with your first name, last name, institutional affiliation and email address. This draft will undergo extensive revision based on comments received from many experts and governments.  IPCC practice is that drafts of IPCC reports are not published until they are final. In making the document available for review by U.S. experts, we are requesting reviewers to indicate that they understand and will respect this practice. 

If you wish to review the draft document, please visit: www.globalchange.gov/srrenreview. There you will find additional instructions about the review process and how to submit comments. To receive a copy of the draft report for review, you will be asked to register with your first name, last name, institutional affiliation and email address. You will also be asked to accept a user agreement before submitting your request. 

Background on the Report (taken from IPCC Working Group III page):

The IPCC develops a comprehensive assessment spanning all the above topics approximately every six years.  In addition to these comprehensive assessments, the IPCC periodically develops Special Reports on specific topics.  Preparation of Special Reports follows the same procedures as for the Assessment Reports.  Governments develop and approve plans for reports, and nominate scientists and experts as lead authors and reviewers.  Authors prepare the reports, which go through several stages of review, following which they are accepted by member governments at a session of the IPCC.  Member governments also approve the executive summaries of the reports (known as a “summary for policy makers”) in detail at the time that they accept the overall report.  Principles and procedures for the IPCC and its preparation of reports can be found at the following web sites (http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/ipcc-principles/ipcc-principles.pdf; http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization_procedures.htm).    

In April 2008, the IPCC approved the development of a Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN).  The SRREN is being developed under the leadership of the IPCC Working Group III.  This Special Report aims to provide a better understanding and broader information on the mitigation potential of renewable energy sources. While the IPCC 4th Assessment Report (AR4) covered the full range of mitigation options, many governments as well as important actors in civil society and the private sector asked for more substantial information and broader coverage of all questions pertaining to the use of renewable energy sources.  

The report is structured with technology chapters - bio-energy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy and wind energy - which feed into overarching chapters.  A system integration chapter brings different aspects of energy demand and supply together.  The report also considers the policy options, outcomes and conditions for effectiveness, and how accelerated deployment could be achieved in a sustainable manner.  Capacity building, technology transfer and financing in different regions are also assessed.

On 22 June, 2010, the International Council for Science (ICSU), in cooperation with the International Social Science Council (ISSC), will host in Paris an Open Forum to explore institutional frameworks that could effectively and successfully support the research and delivery of the Grand Challenges in global sustainability research. This Open Forum is intended to provide a platform to facilitate exchange of information and perspectives.

ICSU cordially invite all stakeholders and interested parties to attend and contribute their insights. Please register early at www.icsu-visioning.org/open-forum-regis, so that we can confirm your registration. Only those who have received confirmation of their registration and bring photo ID (e.g., passport) will be allowed to enter UNESCO, where the meeting is being held.

The deadline for registration is 4 June, 2010

The themes to be discussed at this event will include:

• Grand Challenges in global sustainability research
• Possible institutional frameworks to support the Grand Challenges research
• Funding perspectives
• Regional perspectives
• Policy relevance/communication

Please find attached (and also posted on the website) the tentative agenda.  This will be finalised to take account of the expressed interests of those attending the meeting to ensure that all views can be heard and discussed.

All information on the Open Forum, including the logistics, can be found on the Visioning website at www.icsu-visioning.org/open-forum. Participants are expected to make their own travel and lodging arrangements; these costs will not be covered by the conference organizers.

Following the Open Forum, there will be a meeting between the co-sponsors of the four major global environmental change programmes (IOC, ISSC, IUBS, SCOPE, UNESCO, UNU, WMO), the four global environmental change programmes (DIVERSITAS, IGBP, IHDP, WCRP), ESSP and funding bodies. This 23-24 June meeting will be an invite-only event.  However, the results of the Open Forum will be fed directly into this meeting.

This is an important milestone in the effort to improve the ways in which global sustainability research is organized and conducted. It is important that all those who have a stake in this endeavor are able to have their voices heard. The Open Forum is designed for precisely this purpose, but is not the only or the last opportunity to provide input. We are very much aware that not everyone is able to travel to Paris for this occasion. But ICSU, in cooperation with the ISSC, will continue to work hard and utilize a variety of tools, including online consultation, to listen to the views of all stakeholders throughout the process.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at visioning@icsu.org. All issues relating to the Open Forum can be found at www.icsu-visioning.org/open-forum.