Future Earth at the Bonn Climate Change Conference

Join Future Earth for a series of events at Bonn Climate Change Conference, which runs from 6 to 17 November 2017 in Germany. This event, the 23^rd Conference of the Parties (COP 23) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is a landmark moment for climate change science and policy. It will bring together nearly delegates from 200 nations to discuss how the world can meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement on climate change – an international effort to curb human-caused climate change.

Representatives from throughout the Future Earth community will participate in a range of side events, press conferences and public talks at the conference. These events will delve into topics like the role that cities can play in combating climate change and how research can help to reveal pathways to sustainability. They will also introduce new tools for helping communities to address and adapt to rising temperatures.

You can see a list of events that Future Earth is taking part in below. We will share more news as the conference approaches, so check back in often.

Public Events

Public event on Cities and Climate

15 November 2017, all day

Put forward by the German Committee Future Earth's new Co-Design-Project Group "SDGs at the urban level" and Working Group “Urban sustainability transformations," in collaboration with Future Earth, in particular the Urban Knowledge-Action Network.

• Morning session (2 hours): public with speakers and panel including the mayor of Bonn and other city representatives (in German with translation). See the flyer for this event here.
• Afternoon session is about co-design with city planners (in German) Led by Kerstin Krellenberg and Florian Koch, assisted by Barbara Malburg-Graf.

Press conferences

The Global Carbon Budget 2017 and tracking progress towards the NDCs

Monday, 13 November, 09.30 – 10.00, Press Conference Room 2

University of East Anglia, University of Manchester and the Global Carbon Project

Learn more about this report here.

Speakers:

• Corinne Le Quéré
• Glen Peters
• Owen Gaffney

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Earth Statement release: The 10 Science Essentials on Climate Change

Monday, 13 November at 13.30 – 14.30, Press Conference Room 1 in Bula Zone

A statement from the research community to UNFCCC and national climate negotiators. It outlines the rationale for ambitious action to meet the Paris Agreement and key socio-economic policy levers required to advance progress on decarbonisation.

Read this report here.

Speakers:

• Patricia Espinosa
• Johan Rockström
• Wendy Broadgate
• Hans Joachim Schellnhuber
• chaired by Nick Nuttal Flye (UNFCCC director of communications)

SDG Media Zone

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), Future Earth's strategic partner in Latin America, has teamed up with the PVBLIC Foundation to launch a campaign around "Science for Action." They will be shooting on-camera interviews and launching discussions about how the world can build "action towards a sustainable future." Stop by the SDG Media Zone from 6 to 10 November to participate in this live coverage.

To learn more about this campaign, see the announcement from IAI or watch the video below.

Side events

You can find a complete list of side events at the Bonn Climate Change Conference here.

Reframing the Climate Debate: Enhancing the Paris Agreement and SDG linkages

Monday, 6 November, 13:30-15:00, WWF Pavilion (also on 15 November, see below)

Organisers: Future Earth, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Ca' Foscari University of Venice, University of Maryland

TWI2050, a science and policy initiative, is developing pathways to sustainable development within safe planetary boundaries. The event will discuss how the initiative aims to address a broad spectrum of transformational challenges related to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with an integrated systems approach.

Panel:

• Manuel Pulgar Vidal (WWF)
• Johan Rockström (Stockholm Resilience Centre)
• Keywan Riahi (IIASA)
• Asun St. Clair (DNV)
• Moderated by Luis Gomez Echeverri.

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Reframing the Climate Debate: Enhancing the Paris Agreement and SDG linkages

Wednesday, 15 November, 18:30-20:00, Meeting Room 7 (170 theatre)

Organisers: Future Earth, IIASA, University of Maryland, and University of Venice

TWI2050- A science and policy initiative is developing pathways to sustainable development within safe planetary boundaries. Event will discuss how the initiative aims to address a broad spectrum of transformational challenges related to Paris Agreement and SDGs with an integrated systems approach.

See the flyer for this event here.

Moderator: Luis Gomez-Echeverri, IIASA

Keynote: H.E. Bambang P. S. Brodjonegoro, Minister of National Development Planning of Indonesia

Panelists:

• Nebojsa Nakicenovic, IIASA
• Carlo Carraro, University of Venice
• Nathan Hultman, University of Maryland
• Pauline Scheelbeek, LSHTM and Future Earth

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Catalysing Climate Action, Realizing the SDGs: Science, Interconnections & Implementation

Monday 6 November, 15:00 – 16:30, Meeting Room 7 (150)

Organisers: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), German Development Institute (DIE), Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) (in cooperation with Future Earth and the World Climate Research Programme, WCRP)

To realise global sustainability and climate action, system-thinking and interconnections between Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement are essential. Science and innovation are key to understanding and supporting integrated implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate actions across the global North and South.

Moderator: Imme Scholz (DIE)

Speakers:

• Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR and German Committee Future Earth)
• Asuncion St. Clair (DNV GL)
• Leena Shrivastava (TERI University)
• Joanes Atela (African Centre for Technology Studies)
• Maria Amparo Martinez Arroyo (Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research and INECC)
• Edith Adera (International Development Research Centre)

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Where and when habitability limits of the Earth will be reached due to climate change?

Friday, 10 November, Turkey Pavilion, 18:15-20:15

Organisers: International Council for Science (ICSU), Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

Climate change will shape changes in the natural and the human environment, which might exceed the limits within which some species, including humans, can adapt. Science must explore where and when habitability limits will be reached. The event demonstrates scientific progress in this domain.

Speakers:

• Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR, ICSU & WCRP)
• Jana Sillmann (CICERO Norway)
• Konstantinos Alexopoulos (UNECE)
• Markus Reichstein (Max Plank Institute, Future Earth)

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#CitiesIPCC: Advancing science to accelerate effective climate action in human settlements

Saturday 11 November, 15:00 – 16:30, Meeting Room 1 (152 square)

Organisers: Global Climate Action (GCA)

The session aims to promote and discuss climate action for cities based on science, practice and policy. It will bring together representatives from scientific bodies, local, regional and national governments and urban and climate change practitioners and policy-makers. Discussions will address the 2018 Science Conference on Cities and Climate Change. This event focuses on improving scientific knowledge and stimulating research underpinning effective and efficient urban responses to climate change. It will also provide inputs to the products of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Moderator: Seth Schultz, Director of Research and Innovation, C40

Speakers:

• Paul Ross, Manager of Economic & Environmental Sustainability, City of Edmonton
• Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks, Province of Alberta
• William Cobbett, Director, Cities Alliance
• Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-Habitat
• Boram Lee, Senior Scientific Officer, World Meteorological Organization
• Martina Otto, Head of Cities Unit, UN Environment
• Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair
• Dr. M. Wolff, Director Energy & Climate, Ministry for Education and Research, Germany
• Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Deputy Executive Director, UN-Habitat
• Janet Sanz Cid, Deputy Mayor of Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility, Barcelona
• Martina Otto, Head of Cities Unit, UN Environment
• Dr. Deon Terblanche, Director of Research, World Meteorological Organization
• Jenny Gerbasi, President Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Deputy Mayor of Winnipeg
• Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Mayor of Accra, Ghana

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Global Data to Drive Climate Resilience and Action: An Introduction to Climate Watch and the Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP)

Monday, 13 November, 14:30-15:30, Fiji Pavilion

Organisers: World Resources Institute (WRI)

The event will provide an overview and walk-through of two online data platforms, Climate Watch and PREP, to demonstrate how these platforms can benefit adaptation and resilience practitioners, particularly those in vulnerable regions such as small island developing states (SIDS).

Speakers: Christina Chan, Johannes Friedrich

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The Global Carbon Budget 2017 and tracking progress towards the NDCs

Monday 13 November, 2017 15:00 – 16:15, WWF Pavilion 

The University of East Anglia, University of Manchester and Global Carbon Project will present the 2017 Global Carbon Budget, including a package of media and visual materials. This budget shows why carbon dioxide emissions flattened between 2014 and 2016 and gives projections for 2017. The press conference will also delve into the drivers of emission reductions in 35 nations over the last decade and tracking progress toward the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), developed through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Speakers:

• Prof. Corinne Le Quere, University of East Anglia
• Dr Glen Peters, CICERO Norway
• Prof. Rob Jackson, Stanford University
• Mr Asher Minns, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
• Prof. Mark New, University of Cape Town
• Prof. Kevin Anderson, University of Manchester Point contacts: Owen and Alistair