Anna Pirani, Focal Point alternate for Italy and CMCC, held an “Open Hour” webinar to present the Call for experts launched by the IPCC to participate in the Scoping Meeting for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, interacting with the audience during a Q&A session.

The presentation introduced the work of the IPCC Focal Point for Italy in collecting applications for the upcoming Scoping Meeting to be submitted to the IPCC Bureau for its final evaluation. Pirani explained in detail the Scoping Meeting design, objectives and requirements to be selected for participation.

More detailed information on how to apply here. 

How to apply – FAQs

A list of answers to the most frequently asked questions on how to submit a nomination for the IPCC call for experts, collected during the Open Hour Q&A session.

I am Italian, but I have an affiliation with a foreign institution. How can I apply?

You should contact the national Focal Point for the country where you are working. The full list of contacts is available here: https://www.ipcc.ch/apps/contact/interface/focalpoints.php.

But if you need further information please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Are funds available to cover travel to participate in the IPCC Meetings?

How funding is arranged depends on each country, for this reason you should contact your national Focal Point.
In the case of Italy, the expenses to participate in IPCC meetings will need to be covered by your affiliated institution / employer. 

In the case of participants from developing countries, these expenses are covered by the IPCC. Your travel will be arranged by the IPCC Secretariat and funded through the IPCC Trust Fund.

Member countries, including Italy, make financial contributions to the IPCC so that these resources are available.

Who will select the experts that will be invited to IPCC meetings and activities?

The selection of participants for IPCC scoping meetings, expert meetings and workshops is carried out by the meeting Scientific Steering Committee composed of IPCC Bureau members (external experts may also be invited to join the SSC by the IPCC Bureau).

The selection of authors is carried out by IPCC Bureau members.

If the IPCC selects me, will my participation be considered mandatory or can I opt out?

If you submit your nomination to be selected, you need to be committed to participating. The selection process is highly competitive, with many hundreds of experts wishing to participate. If you are selected you should not then change your mind unless there are exceptional circumstances that prevent you from participating. It may not be possible to replace you in the final list of available places to participate so it could result in a wasted opportunity for others.

Is it envisaged that the experts that take part in the scoping meeting are cited as authors or co-authors of the report, taking ownership of the report output?

All participants of the scoping meeting, including the SSC members, will be acknowledged in the report that is produced as an outcome of the meeting, not as authors of the meeting report. This meeting report is then submitted to the IPCC by the Bureau as an Information Note to accompany the decision on the outline and preparation of the report at the next IPCC Plenary Session.

To become an author of the subsequent IPCC report, you would need to be selected following the call for nominations that will be opened once the IPCC has decided on the report scope, outline, timeline.

Being selected for the scoping meeting – would make it easier to participate as an author?

There is no direct link between being selected as a scoping meeting participant and then as an author of the report. In other words, selection of authors does not automatically consider whether you participated at the scoping meeting.

Where will  the scoping meeting for the Special Report on Cities and Climate Change be held?

The dates and location of the meeting will be confirmed once the host country communicates this information. The meeting will take place around the end of March / April 2024. We expect to know this information soon and will provide news accordingly.

What is the time commitment and length of the process?

As a participant of the scoping meeting, you are committing to fully engaging in the meeting itself that is expected to last 3-4 days. The meeting is a highly interactive process of discussion, sharing ideas, developing proposals and consensus building. Some participants will be invited to co-facilitate discussions, such as in breakout groups, or act as rapporteurs to share discussion outcomes with the full set of participants.

The time commitment of a coordinating lead author, lead author or review editor of an IPCC report is a partial time commitment over approximately a two year period for a Special Report, and three year period for a Working Group Report, with some periods of lower time engagement, as well as certain peak times, e.g. during Lead Author Meetings, or at key points in the timeline when drafts are being finalized. More about this will be presented in a dedicated future open hour webinar when the IPCC issues its call for author nominations. We will discuss the time commitment and also what undertaking an IPCC assessment consists of. 

How relevant to the selection process is my publication list, or the fact that I participated in other IPCC activities?

Being selected as a scoping meeting is very important from a professional perspective since this meeting is critical in the IPCC process in developing the starting point for one of the IPCC products of this cycle that is expected to have a high impact in policy making and be of interest to a very broad audience.

Participating in a scoping meeting does not influence your publication list, but becoming an IPCC author does, you will be a co-author of the chapter or parts of the report that you will be contributing to.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Italy Focal Point via ipcc.fp@cmcc.it.