Experts from around the world will come together in Lanzhou, China, from Monday, July 23 to Thursday, July 26, 2018 to advance preparations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). The Third Lead Author Meeting of the report will bring together more than 100 scientists from more than 35 countries.
At the meeting, SROCC Lead Authors will discuss next steps and update their chapters, addressing more than 12,000 comments from the Expert Review of the First Order Draft. The Second Order Draft will be available for Expert and Government Review in November 2018. The report will be finalised in September 2019.
“We are grateful for the comprehensive feedback we received in the first Expert Review of this report,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II. “By ensuring that the latest scientific knowledge is included in our assessments, the reviews help us to provide the best available basis for global climate policy. The outcomes of our Lead Author Meeting in Lanzhou will take us a huge step closer to this goal.”
“We are looking forward to the meeting in Lanzhou as we continue developing and refining the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. We believe this report will help policymakers better understand the changes we are seeing and the risks to lives and livelihoods that may occur with future climate change,” said IPCC Vice-Chair Ko Barrett. “The gracious hospitality of our hosts is much appreciated.”
Following proposals from several governments, the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate assesses the latest scientific knowledge about the physical science basis and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems and human communities that depend on them.
The word cryosphere – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the areas of the Earth where water is found in its solid state. This includes ice sheets, frozen lakes and rivers, regions covered by snow, glaciers, and frozen soil. Vulnerabilities of different ecosystems as well as adaptation capacities are evaluated, and options for achieving climate resilient development pathways will be presented. The report is being prepared by IPCC Working Group I, which assesses the physical science basis of climate change, and Working Group II, which deals with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
