The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) will bring together 47 scientists from 36 developing countries and 15 highly accomplished climate experts with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Trieste, Italy, for a unique training opportunity on 14–16 May.
The mission of UN-run IPCC is to provide governments with information they can use to develop climate policies through assessments that summarize the current scientific literature, and the mission of Trieste-based TWAS is to advance science in the developing countries. Through this workshop, both objectives join together to provide scientists from some of the countries that will be most troubled by climate change with the tools to be heard by international organizations, influence international priorities, and minimize the harm to their countries.
The workshop is called the Joint Climate Science Network, Mentorship and Capacity Growth. IPCC experts will deliver training on climate science, soft skills, and on how to disseminate climate information to a broad audience in their own countries and regions, and around the globe. The ultimate goal is to introduce the climate scientists from the global South to how the IPCC works, providing them with a unique training opportunity. The workshop was realized through vital funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
“Our vision is to foster a cohesive and active scientific community in the global South that can contribute to the work of the IPCC. This workshop will show participants how to participate in the IPCC and what it means to be part of the IPCC,” said Quarraisha Abdool Karim, TWAS President.
“This workshop is part of a much-needed initiative to enhance the involvement of experts from countries that are currently less well represented in the IPCC process, improving the regional balance,” said Jan Fuglestvedt, Research Director and Special Advisor at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO), and Vice-Chair of IPCC’s Working Group III on Mitigation of Climate Change.
“It is also a very good opportunity to inform about how IPCC works and to connect to early career scientists that can bring valuable knowledge and new perspectives to climate science and the science-policy interface,” he added.
The workshop will take place on the campus of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), where TWAS is based. All sessions will draw from the findings of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, delivered in 2021, with a focus on important work needed in different regions across the global South. At the same time, they will address knowledge gaps and include considerations on the upcoming Seventh Assessment Cycle. The programme will include sessions on initiatives the IPCC experts are currently working on.
Among the participants are 12 PhD students supported by the TWAS-Sida PhD Scholarships for Climate Research for Students from Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The objective of the programme, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), is to increase the base of expertise in climate research in LDCs identified by the UN, and to foster the next generation of “climate ambassadors”—well-rounded scientists who can establish a dialogue between politics and science and amplify voices from their local scientific communities.
The workshop will also introduce participants to ClimateNet, a tailor-made networking platform for climate scientists from the global South supported by TWAS. ClimateNet’s aim is to provide an online forum for discussion, peer support, and mentorship.
About TWAS
For 40 years, The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) has been a leading force in developing crucial scientific capability in some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. A global science academy founded in 1983 in Trieste, Italy, TWAS supports sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy, and diplomacy. With its partners, it has graduated over 1,000 PhDs and offered hundreds of postdoctoral fellowships to developing world scientists. The Academy also hosts prestigious scientific awards in the global South, has offered numerous research grants, and supports exchange visits for scientists. TWAS is a programme unit of UNESCO. More information: www.twas.org.
Press contact:
TWAS: Giovanni Ortolani, Public Information Officer, TWAS, office. +39 040 2240-324, email: gortolani@twas.org
