ECO likes to recall success stories and is eager to replicate them. A big success story was the Structured Expert Dialogue (SED) under the 2013 – 2015 Review. The task of the SED was to consider new science (especially from the Fifth Assessment Report of IPCC) and send the new intelligence in a condensed way to the COP.
In October the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will adopt the Special Report on 1.5 degrees (SR1.5). COP 21 asked the IPCC to produce it in time for the Facilitative Dialogue at COP in 2018. The SR1.5 is a key instrument to start the implementation of the temperature targets agreed to in Paris.
ECO suggests two potential approaches on how to work with the SR1.5 in the Talanoa Dialogue and the COP — a workshop and a special event
The Talanoa Dialogue could include a workshop, very soon after the IPCC Special Report approval, so that in-depth exchanges could take place between the main authors of the IPCC SR1.5 and delegates from Parties and Observers. A report of the workshop could then be considered at SBSTA 49 (during COP24). To reduce costs and increase participation, the workshop and the additional intersession or the Pre-COP 24 meeting could happen back to back. It would mean that Parties would have prepared their positions based on the new scientific intelligence in the latest draft of SR1.5 and use the week after the adoption of SR1.5 to consider what has changed.
Additionally, SBSTA could organise a special event on IPCC SR1.5 directly before the start of COP 24 which should “digest” the incoming new intelligence. SBSTA should invite authors of SR1.5 to present news from science in this event. One of the tasks for this special event could be to iterate the crucial results of IPCC SR1.5 in a language that is in line with that of the Talanoa Dialogue at COP 24. The Chair of this special event should then be invited to send a summary to the Talanoa Dialogue.
ECO also welcomes the intention of the IPCC to spread the message directly into regions by having webinars and regional meetings.
