MCC describes IPCC’s future in COP21 side event

At the Climate Summit in Paris the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) will – together with other institutions – co-host the events “The IPCC at a Crossroads: Enhancing the Usefulness of IPCC to the UNFCCC Process" on Wednesday, December 9, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Observer Room 12. In the context the new IPCC Chairman Hoesung Lee will respond to suggestions for reform options for the panel.

MCC director Ottmar Edenhofer will share his experience as a Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Furthermore, he will present resent research advocating that the future IPCC should assume a greater role in presenting solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Indeed, this is one way in which the political relevance of the IPCC could be enhanced following the climate summit in Paris. The chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) will also describe how the interaction of the Working Groups within the IPCC could be enhanced and what formats could be used in order to ensure a more timely and rapid delivery of products addressing specific policy-relevant questions.

Robert Stavins, Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, will also present selected latest results on the topic of how to reform the IPCC. Charles Kolstad from the Stanford Environmental and Energy Policy Analysis Center (SEEPAC) will highlight the role of economics in the IPCC. Carlo Carraro, Director of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Program of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), will describe what to expect from the new IPCC in regards to its scoping and the agenda. In the end, the new IPCC chair Hoesung Lee will give a response.