IPCC selects authors, editors for reports

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has invited 101 experts from 41 countries to begin work on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) as Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors. The Special Report outline was agreed in March 2017and the report is scheduled to be finalized in September 2019.

The IPCC received a total of 569 nominations from 57member countries. The selection process for Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors was conducted by members of the IPCC Working Group I and II Bureaus and led by the Co-Chairs.
“This Special Report is unique in IPCC history and reflects the increasing awareness of how important and at the same time how fragile the ocean is as a life-sustaining unit of our planet,” said Hans Pörtner, Co-Chair, IPCC Working Group II. “The ocean offers many services to ecosystems and humankind, from climate regulation to food supply. At the same time, ocean-cryosphere-atmosphere interactions will shape sea-level rise as a major challenge to human civilization.” Working Group II assesses climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
Debra Roberts, Working Group II Co-Chair added: “As an IPCC Special Report focused on two Earth systems which together cover the majority of the planet’s surface and which affect the majority of the global population, a diverse and skilled author team is critical in ensuring a report of the highest policy relevance.”
“The IPCC looks forward to working with experts from around the world on this important topic that impacts billions of people, from the high mountains and polar regions to the coasts,” said IPCC Vice-Chair Ko Barrett, who chaired the scientific steering committee for the scoping meeting that drafted the outline of the Special Report.
Of the selected experts, 86 are Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors who have the collective responsibility for the contents their assigned chapters in the report. 15 of the experts are Review Editors who will ensure that all substantive comments during the review stages are given appropriate consideration by the Authors. 36% of the selected experts come from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and 64% are from developed countries. 74% of the selected are new to the the IPCC process. 31% of them are women and 69% men.
Similarly, IPCC has also selected the author team that will prepare its special report on Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. 103 experts from 52 countries will work together to produce the report, set to be finalized in September 2019.
“Understanding how human activities on land affect and are affected by climate change was seen as a priority area by Governments”, said Professor Jim Skea, Co-Chair of Working Group III – the IPCC group that examines climate change mitigation. “Now that the expert team is complete, the IPCC can begin its work assessing scientific research in key areas including sustainable land management and food security.”
The team was carefully selected from a total of 640 nominations by the IPCC Working Group Bureaux and the Co-Chairs of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The process took into account expertise, geographic representation, gender balance and prior IPCC experience. Overall, 56% of the selected experts come from developing countries, 43% are new to the IPCC process and 32% are women.
“The team brings together diverse and global expertise. The Bureau looks forward to working with the experts to produce a report that will be highly relevant to policymakers at national, regional and local levels,” added Professor P.R. Shukla, Co-Chair of Working Group III.
The team will now work together to begin the drafting process, following the report outlines that was agreed in March 2017. The selected experts will take on roles of Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors – who will draft each individual chapter – and Review Editors, who will ensure that comments by experts and Governments are given appropriate consideration as the report develops. The whole team will come together for the first time in Oslo in October to discuss the report in detail.
“We received hundreds of excellent nominations and the selection process was extremely tough,” said IPCC Vice-Chair Youba Sokona, who chaired the Committee that drafted the report outline. “But this is just one way to get involved. Once the team produces its first draft, we will need experts from across the globe to comment on it, so look out for further IPCC announcements.”
Meanwhile, the IPCC expects to issue a call for expert reviewers in 2018.