Exeter to host first UK gathering of IPCC Fifth Assessment report authors

The Transformational Climate Science event, held in Exeter on 15-16 May 2014, will bring key authors from the recent UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report together for the first time in the UK.
 
Professor Dame Julia Slingo, Met Office chief scientist said: “Understanding the science behind climate change and variability is vital, and can help us to plan for a safe and sustainable future. However the scale of the enterprise needs to match the scale of the challenge which climate change presents us with and requires expertise from across a range of disciplines. This event is an excellent example of the approach we will increasingly need to take.”
 
More than 300 scientists and social scientists will attend the pioneering conference and will provide a distinct insight into the science and policy behind climate change strategies.
 
Presenting at the conference, among others, will be Professors Neil Adger, Richard Betts, Mat Collins, Peter Cox, Pierre Friedlingstein and Catherine Mitchell from the University of Exeter, John Barrett and  Andy Challinor from the University of Leeds, and Professor Dame Julia Slingo and Professor Stephen Belcher from the Met Office.
 
Members of the public are also invited to hear directly from IPCC co-chairs, Chris Field and Thomas Stocker, at an interactive evening event on 15 May called Future of climate science. It will include exhibitions of several pivotal projects from the University of Exeter and the Met Office, followed by an interactive session with leading climate scientists.
 
Professor Piers Forster from the University of Leeds and a lead author of the IPCC report said: “Solving climate change will require joined up thinking. I think progress has been hampered by IPCC splitting its reports into three working group strands. The Transformational Climate Science conference will bring these strands together to generate new understanding.”
 
The IPCC has recently published three internationally-important reports. The second of these, publicised in March and including contributions from Exeter academics Neil Adger and Richard Betts, warned that the impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible".

Some of the impacts of climate change highlighted included a higher risk of flooding and changes to crop yields and water availability. It also suggested that mankind may only be able to make limited changes to adapt to these changing climate conditions.

The report also assessed the sensitivity and adaptability to climate change for regions around the world, and for the world’s oceans. It examines in detail agriculture and food security, water resources and scarcity, human health, cities, economic sectors and evaluates the effectiveness of how adaptation is being undertaken.

Professor Neil Adger, Coordinating Lead Author on the chapter on human security for the Working Group 2 volume of IPCC‘s Fifth Assessment Report said: “The key message from this enormous effort is that climate change has real consequences everywhere. No place or country is immune from these impacts. Adapting to this changing climate will not be easy, but we need to start now. It has been a privilege to be a part of this multi-cultural, international effort.”

The IPCC is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.
 
The Exeter conference will be a key event in the UK climate community’s calendar for 2014. For further information please visit www.exeter.ac.uk/climate2014.

Presentations from the Transformational Climate Science 2014 conference will be available to watch online. To view, please visit the dedicated livestream web page.