Bringing Science to the Spotlight

17 May 2017

On Saturday, ECO expressed its expectations on the Facilitative Dialogue (FD 2018), highlighting it as the next big opportunity.

One important contribution to make FD 2018 a big opportunity will come from the Special Report of IPCC on 1.5 degrees, which is expected to be adopted in September 2018. We remember the positive experiences with the Structured Expert Dialogue (SED), which was the delivery vehicle of the results of IPCC AR5 to the UNFCCC. The SED helped to communicate the new scientific background to the delegates. So what is the best way to bring the results of IPCC SR1.5 to FD 2018?

As the Second Periodical Review will begin its work only in 2019, another procedure is necessary to extract the relevant results of IPCC SR1.5, and summarize them in a report which should be presented to FD 2018.

To make this happen, ECO appeals to the Fijian Presidency to have this issue discussed at COP 23; and suggests that the design of FD2018, to be adopted in COP23, should allow the space for sound scientific inputs from the IPCC SR1.5, taking into account lessons from the Structured Expert Dialogue. In the open-ended informal consultations on FD2018, many constructive propositions were tabled, notably from South Korea on behalf of EIG, on how FD 2018 could benefit from IPCC SR1.5.

But that’s not enough. Remember the successful INDC Forum in Rabat before COP 21? It would be helpful if a similar, transparent forum was organised on the results of IPCC SR1.5. Parties and non-party stakeholders could get insights from the modelled impacts of the 1.5 degree development pathways and what is required to stop warming at 1.5 degrees in preparation for FD 2018 at COP 24.