Scientists and policy makers gather at Edmonton for  three days climate change  research agenda

By Hussaini Garba Mohammed

The CitiesIPCC Cities and Climate Change Science conference continues today, as scientists, policymakers, researchers, and development experts gather to advance global understanding of climate change, its impacts on cities, and the critical role cities play in solving this challenge. The conference will be marked by the establishment of a global research agenda, which will create a blueprint for new scientific research to support effective climate action strategies in cities around the world.

TODAY?S PRESS MOMENTS:

Note that details about these press conferences may change. For the most up-to-date schedule, please check the full programme page and select ?Media Opportunities.?

March 6

8:30-9:00 – PARTNER PRESS CONFERENCE: Consumption-Based Emissions Research Product     Organisation: C40 Cities

        Description: New research by C40 Cities, the University of Leeds, University of New South Wales, and Arup examines the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with goods and services consumed by residents of cities such as food, clothing, electronic equipment, airplane travel, delivery trucks and construction industries. The findings reveal a detailed picture of the supply chains and sphere of impact that mayors, businesses and citizens can potentially influence with their climate action. C40 Cities Executive Director, Mark Watts, and his team, will present the findings of the innovative new analysis, and the implications for mayors and city authorities around the world.

        Speakers:

            Mark Watts, C40 Executive Director

            Michael Doust, Programme Director, Measurement and Planning

        Location: Room 4, Meeting Level, Shaw Conference Centre

    11:00-11:30 – PARTNER PRESS CONFERENCE: Presentation of GEO Cities

        Organisation: UN Environment

        Speakers:

            Pierre Henri Boileau

        Location: Room 4, Meeting Level, Shaw Conference Centre

     11:30-12:00 – PARTNER PRESS CONFERENCE: Presentation of two interlinked reports: 1) The Weight of Cities: Resource Requirements of Future Urbanization (global findings) 2) Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Transitions in the ASEAN Region

        Organisation: International Resource Panel, hosted by UN Environment

        Speakers:

            Anu Ramaswami, University of Minnesota

        Location: Room 4, Meeting Level, Shaw Conference Centre

    12:00-12:30 – PARTNER PRESS CONFERENCE: Launch of SDSN-Canada Network

        Organisation: UN SDSN

        Description: The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem solving for sustainable development. The SDSN has operated under the auspices of the UN Secretary- General since 2012. We are committed to supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the municipal, national, and global scales. This year, SDSN will be launching a new National Network for Canada. This Network will be hosted by the Waterloo University and the Waterloo Global Science Initiative. Both institutions have a strong determination to address complex problems through knowledge and innovation. The launch is scheduled for May 7-8 and will gather participants from different sectors in a High Level series of events. The President of the University of Waterloo described the talent and enthusiasm with which this University is facing the launch of this network: ?Encouraged by a distinctly entrepreneurial culture, Waterloo students, alumni and researchers are widely known for coming up with big ideas, creating products that solve problems and making the world a better place.? Canada ranks 17 in last year?s SDG Index showing remarkable performance in the dashboards in goals such as SDG3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG4 (Quality Education). In this report, we can also see how Canada needs to improve its performance in areas such as SDG12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG13 (Climate Action) and SDG15 (Life on Land). The 2018 budget, announced late February, proposes an investment $1.3 billion over 5 years to conserve land, waterways and wildlife and protect species at risk. This is a great piece of news that can help Canada get on route to achieving SDG15.

        Speakers:

            María Cortés Puch, UN SDSN

        Location: Room 4, Meeting Level, Shaw Conference Centre

     12:30-13:00 – Release of The Second Assessment Report on Cities and Climate Change (ARC3.2)

        Organisation: Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN)

        Speakers:

            Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig - Senior Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and UCCRN Co-Director

            Prof. William Solecki - Professor, City University of New York and UCCRN Co-Director

            Dr. Patricia Romero-Lankao, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Co-Editor of ARC3.2

            Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal, Head, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and Co-Editor of ARC3.2

        Location: Room 4, Meeting Level, Shaw Conference Centre

 PROGRAMME:            Full agenda can be found here.

WHO:            

Conference participants will include the below individuals. Please email CitiesIPCC@gpg.com with any interview requests.

    Don Iveson, Mayor of Edmonton

    Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair, Republic of Korea

    Youba Sokona, IPCC Vice-Chair, Mali

    Valérie Masson-Delmotte, IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair, France

    Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair , Germany

    Debra Roberts, IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair, South Africa

    Jim Skea, IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair, United Kingdom

    Ramon Pichs-Madruga, IPCC Working Group III Vice-Chair, Cuba

    Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, IPCC Working Group III Vice-Chair, Hungary

    David Miller, North American Regional Director and Global Ambassador for Inclusive Climate Action at C40 Cities

    Seth Schultz, Director of Science and Innovation at C40 Cities

    Shobhakar Dhakal, Head, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

    Jeff Sachs, Director of UN SDSN

    Aromar Revi, Director of Indian Institute for Human Settlements at UN SDSN

    William Cobbett, Director of Cities Alliance

    Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of UCLG

    Amy Luers, Executive Director of Future Earth

    Anne-Helene Prieur-Richard, Director of Montreal Global Hub of Future Earth

    Yunus Arikan, Head of Global Policy and Advocacy at ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.

 

WHEN:            Monday, March 5, 2018 – Wednesday, March 7, 2018

 

WHERE:           Shaw Conference Centre

                        9797 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton AB T5J 1N9

 

PRESS KIT:      Press kit can be downloaded here.