This year SCAR was delighted to contribute for the first time to the Research Dialogue process at the UNFCCC, working in conjunction with the World Climate Research Programme of the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Science Council, to ensure relevant Antarctic research is brought to the attention of policymakers in this vital international forum.
The Research Dialogue process provides an opportunity for the Parties to the Convention to hear from research programmes and organizations on a number of developments in research activities, including on emerging scientific findings resulting from the latest climate change research. This was the eleventh meeting (RD11)
The report is now available from the meeting, which was held in Bonn on 20 June 2019. SCAR presented a poster entitled:
“Why the Southern Ocean matters”
underlining the importance of the Southern Ocean in the global climate system.
RD11 was held in conjunction with the fiftieth session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice in Bonn in June 2019.
The research dialogue explored topics relevant to the Convention and Paris Agreement engaging
with a wide range of experts from the research community, Parties and non-Party stakeholders.
The aim of the dialogue was to hold a discussion at the science–
policy interface to support adaptation and mitigation action under the Paris Agreement, based on the best
available science. To this end, the meeting centred on four themes:
- Transformation of energy and other sectoral systems to achieve the purpose and long-term
goals of the Paris Agreement - Transformative adaptation and climate resilient development
- Changing levels of risk and the attribution of extreme climate events and impacts to climate
change - Role of the ocean in the climate system (The SCAR poster was presented under this theme).
The dialogue consisted of a 1.5 hour poster session which covered all four themes. This was followed by a 3 hour dialogue session with presentations, Q&A and breakout groups, that explored the first two themes in more detail in panel discussions, with the third and fourth themes as cross-cutting elements. The SCAR poster proved popular, with the SCAR Executive Director and Executive Officer speaking to over 20 parties between them during the session, as well as many from NGOs and industry.
SCAR continues to support Antarctic research within the UNFCCC process, including through the Cryosphere Pavilion at the ongoing COP25 meeting in Madrid.