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South Africa, through the Department of Environmental Affairs, will host the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II First Lead Author Meeting of the Sixth Assessment Report from 21 to 25 January 2019 in Durban.
IPCC is an international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
The IPCC assessments provide a scientific basis for governments at all levels to develop climate related policies, and they underlie negotiations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The assessments are policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive. They may present projections of future climate change based on different scenarios and the risks that climate change poses and discuss the implications of response options, but they do not prescribe to policymakers what actions to take.
With 195 members and thousands of people from all over the world contributing to its work, IPCC is divided into three Working Groups and a Task Force. Working Group I deals with The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change, Working Group II with Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and Working Group III with Mitigation of Climate Change. The main objective of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is to develop and refine a methodology for the calculation and reporting of national greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
The IPCC Working Group Lead Authors will spend a week focusing on the assessment of relevant literature, especially since the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). The Working Group II scope will cover inter alia the following thematic areas: Terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services ; Ocean and coastal ecosystems and their services ; Water; Food, fibre, and other ecosystem products; Cities, settlements and key infrastructure; Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities; Poverty, livelihoods and sustainable development; Sustainable development pathways: integrating adaptation and mitigation; etc.
Members of the media are invited to attend a media briefing and the opening ceremony that will be addressed by IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, Vice Chair Youba Sokona and the Working Group II Co-Chairs Debra Roberts and Hans-Otto Pörtner. The media briefing and the opening ceremony will take place as follows:
Date: Monday 21 January 2019
Time: 08:00 – 10:00
Venue: Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Center, Durban
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of Government Communication and Information.
