WASCAL SENIOR SCIENTIST INVOLVED IN THE NEXT IPCC ASSESSMENT REPORT

Dr. Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla, senior scientist in climate modeling and climate change currently leading the research cluster climate change and climate variability at the WASCAL Competence Centre has been selected as an author in connection with the preparation of the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 6 (AR6).

By this appointment, he will be one of the lead authors for the chapter 12 “Climate Change information for regional impact and for risk assessment” of the Working Group 1 (WG1) contribution due in 2021. Together with his co-authors, they will work on integrating both quantitative and qualitative climate change information from multiple lines of evidence on changing hazards for the present day, the near-term and the long-term.

According to Dr. Sylla, working with IPCC is both exciting and challenging. “In fact, the task of Lead Authors is a demanding one. It comes with astute commitment. The workload during the period from the second half of 2018 to 2021 will be in the order of several months and can be particularly heavy during certain periods. At the same time, it is a big honour to be selected to contribute to one of the most comprehensive scientific documents in history” He said.

The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and endorsed by UN assembly. The role of the IPCC is to comprehensively and objectively assess y the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. Every 5 to 7 years, IPCC releases an assessment report written by hundreds of scientists in a very collaborative and collegial way. This report constitutes the current state of knowledge on climate change and informs international policy and negotiations on climate-related issues.

Working Group 1 (WG1) deals with The Physical Science Basis. Each of the chapters is led by a group of Lead Authors and Coordinating Lead Authors that are world-leading climate scientists who represent a broad range of opinion, expertise, gender, and geographical representation. They come from academia, research facilities, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations.

The new political developments on climate-related goals (i.e. the Paris Agreement, the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction accord) that forge the context of the next AR6, all the collaboration with expert scientists from all over the planet working towards a common goal as well as the cross-cultural experiences that will be encountered during the process make it an exciting appointment.

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