IPCC: Call for participation in the Scoping Meeting for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities

The seventh assessment cycle will include a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities. To develop the scope and outline of the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, a Scoping Meeting will be held in late March/early April 2024. The Scoping Meeting would result in a draft Scoping Paper describing the objectives and an annotated outline of the Special Report as well as the process and timeline for its preparation.

Deadline for nomination: For timely nomination, experts should fill in the nomination form asap (instructions see below), but not later than 14 November 2023.

Expertise in demand:

• Biophysical (expertise examples include urban meteorology and climatology, urban meteorological/energy/water/carbon/air quality modelling and observational monitoring, urban carbon cycle, urban hydrology, urban biodiversity, land-atmosphere interactions);
• Impacts and Risks, including (i) Economic and Non-economic Losses and Damages and (ii) Compounding and Cascading Aspects (expertise examples include statistical climatology, detection and attribution of climate extremes, heat islands and urban overheating, air pollution, inland and coastal flooding, critical infrastructure including power, digital communication and transport, water/energy/food/health nexus, food security, health, supply chain, vulnerability, losses and damages, risk management, disaster risk reduction, risk modelling);
• Sectoral Development, Adaptation, Mitigation and Responses to Losses and Damages (expertise examples include built environment, urban planning, building design and materials, tourism, urbanization trends, informal settlements, migration and urban poverty, water management, energy systems, infrastructure, ecosystems and biodiversity, nature based solutions/ecosystem based adaptation, livelihood and communities perspectives issues, urban scenarios/pathways,transportation systems and mobility services, industry, urban agriculture and food production, waste management, climate services and early warning systems, environmental psychology);
• Energy and Emissions (expertise examples include emission inventory, urban and embodied emissions, urban energy demand and services, energy mix, urban energy management, power grid layout, standards and regulations, carbon accounting, urban carbon sequestration, renewable energy, life cycle assessment);
• Governance, Policy, Institutions, Planning and Finance (expertise examples include typology of cities and decision frameworks, urban planning, architecture, smart cities, mitigation / adaptation policies, energy security, water security and sanitation, barriers and enabling conditions for urban climate finance, insurance, livable cities, role of normative principles in governance, science, technology and innovation for sustainable cities, articulation between local and national development priorities, climate resilient development in cities, Sustainable Development Goals, environmental, social and governance reporting);
• Civil Society (expertise examples include social coherence, justice, equity, ethics, gender, intersectionality science, decision making, science/policy interaction, communication, digital/cyber security, indigenous knowledge systems, diversity of urban stakeholders involved in climate responses, city networks / alliances, environmental advocacy).

Selection: While the final outline for the Special Report may not include all areas listed above, broad expertise is solicited in order to determine robust areas for consideration. In selecting scoping meeting participants, consideration will be given to the following criteria: scientific, technical and socio- economic expertise, including the range of views; geographical representation; a mixture of experts with and without previous experience in IPCC; gender balance; and experts with a background from relevant stakeholder and user groups, including urban practitioners and planners, representatives of civil society organizations and local/regional governments.

How to be nominated: If you are interested in participating in this meeting, please

• Fill out the attached nomination form, with 2 tabs to be completed. Please save your name as part of the name of the excel-file;
• Provide a CV as a pdf, max. 4 pages. Please save your name as part of the name of the pdf-file;
• Send the nomination form and the CV to the Swiss IPCC National Focal Point (Dr. Sebastian König, BAFU, sebastian.koenig@bafu.admin.ch), Deadline Tuesday, 14th November 2023

Only the Government Focal Points, observer organizations and Bureau members are able to submit nominations.

If you have questions related to the scoping meeting or the IPCC process, please contact Sebastian König, FOEN, Swiss IPCC Focal Point: sebastian.koenig@bafu.admin.ch