COP26 science pavilion

Sunday 07 November - rest day

conference closed

The side event will review the state of the global climate observing system as per GCOS Status Report 2021, informing policy makers, and those with oversight over observing networks and satellite observations, about the recent achievements in the system, as well as its gaps and deficiencies.

View a video of this event here.

WMO

IPCC

Our current ocean observing system is fragile, reliant on piecemeal funding and key organizations and individuals. During this event, we will discuss how during the UN Ocean Decade we can transform our currently fragile ocean observing system, to support climate action and sustainable development.  

Chair: Ed Hill (Head of the UK Delegation to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission)

Panellists: John Siddorn (Associate Director, Digital Ocean, National Oceanography Centre), Richard Wood (Head of the Climate, Cryosphere and Oceans group, Met Office), Anya Waite (Co-chair of the GOOS Steering Committee and Scientific Director and CEO of Canada’s Ocean Frontier Institute)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

WMO

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

Centre Scientifique de Monaco

Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

The International Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over Earth (ACRE) coordinates international efforts to rescue and recover global historical terrestrial and marine instrumental weather data. This event will demonstrate the value of historical data to climate services and aim to inspire more nations to participate in this global effort.

Chair: Nick Rayner (Met Office Hadley Centre)

Panellists: Rob Allan (Met Office Hadley Centre), Georgina Enfield (University of Liverpool), Ed Hawkins (University of Reading), Albert Klein Tank (Met Office Hadley Centre), Laura Slivinski (University of Colorado/CIRES and NOAA/Physical, Sciences Laboratory)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

WMO

Pavilion launch event and reception.

The case for action, current and future challenges, the need for solutions. Followed by evening reception (Invite only)

Chair: Albert Klein Tank (Met Office Hadley Centre)

Speeches from: Stephen Belcher (Met Office Chief Scientist), Francisca Cortés Solari (Executive President of Fundaciōn Meri), Andres Couve (Minister of Science of Chile), Hoesung Lee (Chair, IPCC), Valerie Masson Delmotte (WG1 Co-chair, IPCC), Caroline Schmidt (Minister of the Environment and President of COP25), Petteri Taalas (Secretary General WMO)​​​

View a video of this event here.

WMO

Met Office

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

This event will discuss emerging Climate Risks and what it would take to limit temperatures to 1.5 degrees (negative emissions).

View a video of this event here.

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

This one-hour event provides an opportunity for the three organisations behind the pavilion – WMO, IPCC, Met Office – to provide a forward looking perspective on the science needed to help the world halt climate change. 

Chair: Sir Patrick Vallance (COP26 & UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser)

Panellists: Stephen Belcher (Met Office), Juerg Luterbacher (WMO), Valerie Masson Delmote (IPCC)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

IPCC

WMO

The session will showcase and facilitate discussion on the power of bringing high-quality, trusted, relevant and timely data and evidence together to provide greater insight for monitoring and tackling the impacts of climate change. Innovative solutions to improving the accessibility and navigability of climate change information will be presented, supporting maximum audience reach and providing a coherent UK climate change narrative at local, regional and national levels, and in line with global targets.

Chair: Chris Stark (Committee on Climate Change)

Panellists: Stephen Belcher (Met Office), Sir Ian Diamond (National Statistician), Maxx Diley (WMO), Helen Fox (ONS), Timo Leiter (Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment), Nick Rayner (Met Office)

View a video of this event here.

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

The launch of the WMO flagship publication on climate indicators and sustainable development.

View a video of this event here.

WMO

IPCC

Climate data analysis for the past, present and future provides evidence based information for adaptation planning. It ensures cost-efficient action for impolementation and shows the right pathway.

View a video of this event here.

This session is about being prepared for the worst. What could plausibly happen in the climate system that goes beyond the likely projected climate futures? What would the impacts be? How can we minimise the risks? And how can we become resilient in case the worst happens?

Chair: Richard Wood (Met Office Hadley Centre)

Panellists: June-Yi Lee (Pusan National University), Tim Lenton (University of Exeter), Simon Sharpe (Cabinet Office), Thomas Stocker (University of Bern)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

Centre Scientifique de Monaco

Greening finance is a key part of achieving the Paris goals and science must be at the heart of this. We will share lessons from the latest science-informed climate stress tests across several countries and showcase how next generation science can inform finance to align with Paris goals. 

Chair: Nicola Ranger (CGFI)

Ignite pre-recording speeches: Antoine Bavandi (World Bank), Francesco Caloia (Dutch National Bank), Hiroko Oura (IMF), Shoko Takemoto (World Bank)

Panellists: Ben Caldecott (CGFI), Jim Hall (Oxford University), Jason Lowe (Met Office), Olivier Mahul (World Bank), Patrcia Moles Fanjul (Banco de Mexico), Laura Parisi (European Central Bank)

View a video of this event here.

This session will set out the needs for climate modelling in the context of the negotiations at COP26, particularly to inform actions that will need to be taken over the next decade to limit temperature rise to 2.0 degree or below. For this iIt will consider the main improvement  of climate modelling that will need to be addressed to reach this goal.

Chair: Detlef Stammer (WCRP)

Video introduction: Paul Monks (BEIS)

Panellists: Greg Flato (IPCC), Veronika Eyring, Kirsten Findell, Albert Klein-Tank (Met Office Hadley Centre), Rick Spinrad (NOAA)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

IPCC

High-level event for the WMO-GCF collaboration: Climate Science Information for Climate Action. The event will launch and showcase the knowledge products (platform, tools and guidance) developed under the joint collaboration.

View a video of this event here.

Clean energy transitions are unfolding in a context of more perceptible and damaging extreme weather manifestations. This event will identify solutions to strengthen energy system resilience to meet a dual mitigation/adaptation objective in response to climate change and growing climate hazards.

View a video of this event here.

We are launching the 2021 Global Carbon Budget, an estimate of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, land use change; atmospheric CO2 increase; and CO2 uptake by land and ocean systems. We will look at the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on 2020 emissions and the expected 2021 rebound. 

Chair: Maisa Rojas

Panellists: Pierre Friedlingstein (University of Exeter), Corinne Le Quéré (Tyndall Centre), Glen Peters (CICERO), Julia Pongratz (Max-Plack-Institut), Andy Wiltshire (Met Office)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

In this decisive decade we must both tackle an economic recovery from a global pandemic, and face the threat of climate change. This panel explores how countries in Africa, Latin America and Europe are all facing this threat, and contributing to investments in adaptation and mitigation. 

Observations-based approach to support efficient mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions: IG3IS and Monitoring carbon budgets, emissions, atmospheric concentrations and attributable warming– challenges and opportunities.  

View a video of this event here.

This event will explore best-practice in the use of science to support ambitious climate action, covering engineering, social and political science. Through a set of case studies, panel discussion and Q&A, it will advance our understanding of how science can support the net-zero transition. 

Chair: Neil Grant 

Panellists: Yasmine Fouad (Egyptian Government), Jason Lowe (Met Office), Sarah Mander (Tyndall Centre), Ritu Mathur (TERI), Amiera Sawas (Climate Outreach, CAST), Professor Alberto Troccoli (World Energy Meteorology Council, University of East Anglia)

View a video of this event here.

WMO

Met Office

IPCC

WMO

IPCC

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

“Blue carbon and other marine biological processes as a solution to the ecological and socio-economic impacts of climate-related changes in the ocean -- Can we rely on natural ocean processes for climate mitigation?”, the event will present the key messages and the policy-recommendations. Then the panelists will discuss about this topic and the capacity of nature to mitigate climate change, as Nature based Solutions. 

Fundaciōn Meri

Centre Scientifique de Monaco

Weather forecasts, seasonal outlooks and long-range climate projections are valuable scientific tools, but the impacts of severe weather and hazards can only be fully understood through effective collaboration and enabling the right action to be taken at the right time.

This collaboration enables impact-based services to be co-produced which can directly inform policies, decision making and actions. This session will describe how effective collaboration between user and producer organisations can take place and will illustrate how co-produced services can save lives and enhance livelihoods.

Panellists: Maarten van Aalst, Irene Amuron, Richard Jones (Met Office), Will Lang (Met Office), Archana Shrestha (Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Nepal), Madhap Uprety

View a video of this event here.

This event is to highlight the key messages of the 6th assessment report of the IPCC on climate change: Physical Science basis, with a particular focus on Africa. IPCC authors will present the common regional observed and projected change signals for the African continent, as well as key messages for the 9 IPCC African regions and the West African Monsoon. There will be a breakout session to host a Q&A for the regions, followed by a demonstration of the interactive Atlas.

View a video of this event here.

Informal settlements in developing country cities have grown, yet their infrastructure is struggling to meet community needs. Early career staff in the FRACTAL project facilitated communities, city planners and climate scientists to provide risk information and plan adaptions for those most in need.

Panellists: Sukaina Bharwani (SEI), Kirst Griffin (ICLEI-Africa), Chris Jack (University of Cape Town), Richard Jones (Met Office), Bettina Koelle (Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre), Alice McClure (University of Cape Town), Mzime Murisa (START), Meggan Spires (ICLEI-Africa)

View a video of this event here.

International media and the communications and science communities will be invited to mark the launch of a new Topical Collection (TC) of the journal Climatic Change on the topic of Climate Change Communication and the IPCC. The TC showcases expertise in the research, policy and other stakeholder communities in communicating climate change, and its relevance to the IPCC. A diverse panel of authors of three TC papers (on public understanding of terminology, engaging young people and democratising knowledge) will present their key findings, followed by critical reflections from IPCC vice chair, Thelma Krug, on their significance for the IPCC’s communications strategy. This will be followed by a frank and forward-looking Q&A session and a light-hearted ‘pitch contest’ with special guests to close the event.

View a video of this event here.

This event will explore the ways in which climate change information can be used more effectively to lead to greater action.
It will cover:
-    Information about the latest knowledge of characterising climate risks, building resilience to climate hazards and communicating climate risk 
-    An interactive session to test which communication approaches are useful for the audience
-    A toolkit on climate risk communication
-    A reflection from actors on what they find inspiring and useful about scientific information

Panellists: Courtnae Bailey, Martine J BaronsCraig Hutton (UNICEF), Erik Mackie, Freya Roberts, Emily Shuckburgh, Joseph Walton

You can also explore Communicating Climate Risk: A Toolkit

View a video of this event here.

‘Hot Poets’ and ‘One Chance Left’ present complementary ways that scientists, health professionals and poets can work together to communicate climate science and impacts through poetry to COP26 and the public. This event introduces the projects and features poems from both poets and scientists.

Panellists: Francesca Louise Beard (Hot Poets), Sally Flint (One Chance Left, University of Exeter), Ian Fussell (One Chance Left, University of Exeter), Cecilia Manosa Nyblon (One Chance Left, University of Exeter), Christopher David Redmond (Hot Poets, Tongue Fu), Richard Smith aka. Elvis McGonagall (Hot Poets), Liv Torc (Hot Poets)

View a video of this event here.

The oceans are warming and acidifying, sea level is rising and ice is melting. The choices we make now will affect the ocean and the cryosphere beyond the end of this century. Many changes may be irreversible for centuries to come and commit us to longer term sea level rise. How will this affect marine ecosystems, ocean resources, services and society, and how can we build resilience? 

Panellists: Rondrotiana Barimalala (University of Capetown), Tamsin Edwards (Kings College London), Sonia Espanol (MERI), Helene Hewitt (Met Office), A.K.M. Saiful Islam (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), Valerie Masson-Delmotte (IPCC, IPSL/LSCE), Mike Meredith (British Antarctic Survey), Rosh Ranasinghe, Martin Sommerkorn (IPCC/WWF), Fiamma Straneo (Scripps Institute of Oceanography)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

IPCC

WMO

Fundaciōn Meri

The event will focus on the most recent regional climate information for the European region based on the latest IPCC WGI AR6 relevant for impact and risk assessment. The climatic impact-drivers (CIDs) framework will be introduced and future projection of the most relevant CIDs, with their past trend observations and attribution will be highlighted for each of the 4 European AR6 regions. The events will be enriched by examples of CID projections at several global warming levels (1.5oC, 2oC and 4oC) illustrated by mean of the Interactive Atlas facility. The plenary discussion will be followed by a Q&A session in separated breakout rooms where specific topic in different languages will be discussed with the participants.

View a video of this event here.

This event will focus on the impacts of climate change on the resilience of the food system and how this is factored into decision making. We will show how climate risk information is used in practice and highlight the importance of co-development of climate services and global partnerships.

Panellists: Yoseph Alemayehu (CIMMYT/University of Cambridge), Pete Falloon (Met Office), Gideon Henderson (Defra), Robert Stefanski (WMO)

Moderator: Clare Nasir (Met Office)

View a video of this event here.

This event is to highlight the key messages of the 6th assessment report of the IPCC on climate change: Physical Science basis, with a particular focus on Central and South America. IPCC authors will present the common regional observed and projected change signals for the Central America, Caribbean and South America continent, followed by a demonstration of the interactive Atlas. Invited speakers will discuss how to integrate climate components to formulate public policies – environmental, economic, and social – in order to disseminate current information on the impacts of climate change.

View a video of this event here.

IPCC

The international community is developing tools to provide globally consistent maps of ozone, sulphur and nitrogen deposition for evaluating the risks to agriculture and ecosystems. The concept of global system, deposition impacts and implications for ocean management will be presented during this side event.

View a video of this event here.

How do we increase resilience to climate events, prioritising needs of vulnerable people and their access to clean and safe water, hygiene and toilets? The Special Rapporteur discusses government preparedness with top experts in climate change, water and human rights. 

View a video of this event here.

This session will present past and future climate changes in Australia and New Zealand (Australasia) as described in the IPCC Working Group I sixth assessment report. Changes in the average climate, extremes and a range of climatic impact drivers relevant for impact and risk assessment will be presented at different levels of future warming (1.5oC, 2oC and 4oC). The general results will be illustrated with examples using the IPCC Interactive Atlas, a Q&A session and break-out rooms for extended discussion by region.

View a video of this event here.

IPCC

Climate science provides understanding of how the climate is changing and as such, plays a key role in informing mitigation policy and action.  However, climate science also needs to drive adaptation strategies to enable countries to be better prepared for the changes in climate they are experiencing now and in the future.  

This session will explore the opportunities for climate science to shape resilience building and adaptation policy and practice and vice versa.  It will illustrate how, in order to be actionable, weather and climate science needs to be trans-disciplinary; bringing together natural scientists, social scientists and practitioners so they can combine understanding of hazards, risks and vulnerabilities to enable co-developed (or co-produced) policies and services.  

Panellists: Stephen Belcher (Met Office), Helen Bye (Met Office), Suraje Dessai (Leeds Uni), Jolamu Nkhokwe (Department of Climate & Meteorology Malawi), Maarten Van Aalst (Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, Rosalind West (FCDO)

View a video of this event here.

Met Office

IPCC

The event will highlight the recent findings of the IPCC AR6 WGI report on the Small Islands. The first part of the event will consist of plenary presentations that will feature a regional overview followed by more focused presentations on the climate information in the Caribbean, Pacific and Western Indian Ocean islands, as well as on regional sea level rise and ocean climate, and tropical cyclones. There will also be a presentation on the Interactive Atlas to discuss the regional synthesis and demonstrate how participants can obtain regional information.

View a video of this event here.

IPCC

The event presents findings from the GFCS “2021 State of Climate Services: Water” report and explores the progress made by WMO Members in using climate services to address water-related challenges through real-world examples.

View a video of this event here.

How Brazil/UK climate science partnerships are leading to us gaining a better understanding of the climate ecosystem of Brazil. And how applying that expertise is enabling us to make recommendations for communities to take effective action to adapt & mitigate to a changing climate/ecosystem. Much of this work is centred on the Amazon rainforest, often referred to as the ‘lungs of the world’. 

Panellists: Richard Betts (Met Office), Helen Bye (Met Office), Thelma Krugg (IPCC), David Lapola (University of Campinas), Marcelo Morales (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation), Carlos Alberto Quesada (National Amazon Institute for Research), Vijay Rangarajan (FCDO)

View a video of this event here.

A panel of government senior scientific advisers and climate experts discuss how science and innovation can ensure adaptation and mitigation policies are effective at keeping 1.5C within reach. This will build on the International Statement on climate science and innovation launched on 28 October.

Panellists: Eric Lander (President’s Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy), Mona Nemer (Chief Science Adviser of Canada), Sir Patrick Vallance (COP26 Chief Scientific Adviser)

View a video of this event here.

The economical, social, cultural and environmental importance of marine and terrestrial ecosystems lies not only on the goods, but also and very importantly, on the services that they provide to society and that are poorly recognized.

The side-event will present the latest knowledge on climate change over Asia from the recently released WGI contribution to the IPCC AR6. It will provide an overview of the main changes that have been observed or are expected with further global climate change. Some additional findings for the main Asian subcontinental regions, its monsoon systems and high mountains will then be presented by IPCC authors involved in generating these. The first part of the event will then conclude with a presentation of the IPCC Interactive Atlas, demonstrating how it facilitates exploration of many of the datasets used in the main assessment and also the synthesis information on climate change over Asia presented in the Summary for Policymakers and the Technical summary.

View a video of this event here.

Nuclear sciences in climate studies: fingerprinting precipitation origins using isotope tracers.

View a video of this event here.

14:30-16:00

We host distinguished panellists from the IPCC (Ko Barrett), WMO (Dr Elena Manaenkova), Fundación MERI (Agustina Lo Bianco) and the Met Office (Professor  Penny Endersby) who will discuss what women bring to climate science and how we can reach gender equality and increase diversity in science leadership.

Chair: Albert Klein-Tank (Met Office Hadley Centre)

Panellists: Ko Barrett (IPCC), Penny Endersby (Met Office), Agustina Lo Bianco (Fundación MERI), Elena Manaenkova (WMO)

View a video of this event here.

WMO

Met Office

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

The event will focus on the most recent regional climate information for the North and Central America region based on the latest IPCC WGI AR6 relevant for impact and risk assessment. The climatic impact-drivers (CIDs) framework will be introduced and future projection of the most relevant CIDs, with their past trend observations and attribution will be highlighted for each of the 8 AR6 subregions of North and Central America. The events will be enriched by examples of CID projections at several global warming levels (1.5oC, 2oC and 4oC) illustrated by mean of the Interactive Atlas facility. The plenary discussion will be followed by a Q&A session in separated breakout rooms where specific topic in different languages will be discussed with the participants. 

View a video of this event here.

Forecasting climate change is just the beginning. To enable mitigation and adaption actions to be taken, we need to understand climate change impacts. By applying climate and location data to contextual information, we can better understand the impacts and therefore make more informed decisions.

The Met Office, Ordnance Survey, Geospatial Commission and Esri explain and how they are working together systematically to enable any organisation or government to better understand climate change impacts relevant to them.

Chair: Ian Lisk (Met Office and WMO)

View a video of this event here.

09:30-10:30

In the proposed session speakers from UKHSA (formerly Public Health England) will offer a view of early findings from four chapters (temperature, air quality, food systems and vector-borne diseases) of the forthcoming Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK Report. Each will outline what actions need prioritisation in light of the UK NDCs and commitments under the Adaptation Communication and the imminent first Global Stocktake of 2023.
The session will conclude with reflections from two international panellists (one each from the climate and health community)- independent from the talks. These experts will comment specifically on the research and science challenges for impact assessments in the context of their country (Switzerland and USA).

Panellists: Alan Dangour (LSHTM), Kris Ebi, Karen Exley (UKHSA), Emma Gillingham (UKHSA),  Helen Macintyre (UKHSA), Jolyon Medlock (UKHSA), Dann Mitchell (University of Bristol), Revati Phalkey (UKHSA), Sonia Seneviratne

View a video of this event here.

11:00-12:30

How do IPCC reports inform the UNFCCC process? a discussion on the link between IPCC findings, the UNFCCC and climate policy

View a video of this event here

Even in a low carbon world we will need to prepare for the unavoidable impacts of a changing climate by building resilience. To effectively respond to climate change we need both scientific and technical advances to understand climate-related risks, and to co-develop locally-appropriate responses to manage these risks alongside supportive governance to incentivise and fund it. Greater user-engagement at all stages of the research process from the identification of research questions to evaluation of the application of the findings, requires a different approach to research design and funding. This event will showcase how two research programmes – the Strategic Priorities Fund UK Climate Resilience Programme and the Future Climate For Africa – in different contexts – the UK and Africa – have worked with research users, funders and policy makers at all stages of the research cycle to enhance the usefulness and usability of scientific research. The presentations and discussion will provide critical reflections and useful lessons for applied climate resilience research for researchers, funders and users of research in policy and practice in the global south and north. 

Chair: Gideon Henderson

Panellists: Andrew Carr, Tamara Janes (Met Office), Kate Lonsdale, Julius Ng'oma, Geoffrey Sabilti

View a video of this event here.

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

Scaling up climate finance in the context of Covid-19: A science-based call for financial decision-maker

At this event we will discuss how financial decision-makers can align finance with sustainable development and help to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, climate resilient economies, based on the latest scientific findings and policy developments.

Watch a video of this event here.

Climate Strategies

View a video of this event here

The recent IPCC report shows that short lived climate pollutants contribute to substantial radiative forcing. Reducing these pollutants will improve air quality, reduce the impacts of ozone in crops, and reduce harmful methane emissions from agriculture and waste management. This panel will explore how governments can include black carbon, methane, and HFCs in their NDCs, and leverage multiple benefits that contribute to enhanced climate ambition.

View a video of this event here

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

This side event will provide information on WMO activities that will serve loss and damage stakeholders with authoritative natural hazard information for more accurate and scalable data. The discussions will also explore how these efforts underpin impact-based forecasting and the issuance of actionable alerts and warnings, which are part of WMO's Global Multi-hazard Alert System initiative   

View a video of this event here.

WMO

IPCC

As a result of COVID-19, pollutant emissions decreased for a short while. The side event will discuss the strategies that have emerged from scientific studies of pandemic effects on air quality and puts this in the context of the future health impacts considering the connection between pollution and climate change. 

View a video of this event here.

Integrated Urban Services have multiple benefits for cities. By combining weather, climate, environmental and hydrological forecasting, decision makers receive more comprehensive information and can optimize investments in the underlying infrastructure. 

View a video of this event here.

The objective of this event is to establish the importance of the integration of the gender approach in the scientific space, while setting a precedent for power and decision-making spaces must be homogeneously distributed according to visions that achieve joint work.

View a video of this event here

IPCC

Fundaciōn Meri

Satellite observations have dramatically increased their climate capabilities with improving resolution, coverage and parameters measured.  This event presentation will focus on the importance of satellite data and of the tools to transform them into useful information for COP26.

View a video of this event here.

This event will explore the requirements of transmission system operators for accessing and interpreting weather, water and climate information for optimizing the power system and securing supply of low-carbon electricity. Experts of weather, water and climate information will also provide an overview of the tools and services already available for planning and managing power grids.

View a video of this event here.