2019/17/MA
IPCC MEDIA ADVISORY 20 June 2019
GENEVA, June 20 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will consider the Special Report Climate Change and Land on 2 – 6 August 2019 during its 50th Session to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The full title of the report is Climate Change and Land, an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems (SRCCL).
Formally, the draft Summary for Policymakers (SPM) will be considered by the Second Joint Session of IPCC Working Groups I, II and III. The work of the Working Group Session is then submitted to the 50th Session of the IPCC for acceptance.
Press conference
A press conference to present the Summary for Policymakers of Climate Change and Land will be held after the 50th Session, subject to approval of the Summary for Policymakers.
WHEN: 10:00 a.m. CEST (Geneva) on Thursday, 8 August 2019
(04.00 EDT (New York) , 08:00 GMT, 09:00 BST (London), 11:00 EAT (Nairobi), 15:00 ICT (Bangkok))
WHERE: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) headquarters
7 bis Avenue de la Paix, Geneva, Switzerland
IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee and the Co-Chairs of the three Working Groups of the IPCC and the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories will address the press conference. The press conference will be streamed live. Details on how to access the live stream and ask questions remotely will be sent closer to the time.
The IPCC Chair, Co-Chairs and report authors will be available for interview after the press conference. Details on how media can request interviews will be sent in the coming weeks.
Opening Session
The 50th Session of the IPCC will open at 10:00 a.m. (CEST) on Friday, 2 August, 2019 at the headquarters of the WMO in Geneva, Switzerland.
The opening session, running from 10 to 11 a.m., will be addressed by the IPCC Chair, and by senior officials from the United Nations Environment Programme, the WMO, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Switzerland.
The opening session is open to the media. A limited number of places for journalists are available and priority will be given to wire services and local media. Otherwise, the IPCC meeting is closed to the public and media.
Embargoed materials
The Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Climate Change and Land, the press release and any other press materials will be made available to registered media under embargo shortly after approval of the Summary for Policymakers. Please note that registering for the Opening Session and/or the press conference will not automatically provide you with access to embargoed materials. Media representatives who want access to the embargoed materials must check the option for “embargo” on the online form, regardless of whether they are registering to attend the press conference or not.
The embargo will run until the start of the press conference. Registered media will receive an email alert when the embargoed material is posted. The exact time that the embargoed material is made available will depend on the time the plenary approves the Summary for Policymakers and accepts the underlying report. Registering for access will require media representatives to agree to adhere to the terms of the embargo. Failure to adhere to the terms and conditions will result in that journalist or media outlet being excluded from future embargo arrangements.
How to register
The IPCC operates its own registration and accreditation system. Please check our accreditation and registration FAQs http://bit.ly/ipcc-media-accreditation-FAQs.
It is not necessary to register simply to follow the live stream of the press conference. Registration is only required to attend the press conference and/or opening session in person, and/or to access embargoed materials.
To attend the press conference and/or the opening session in person and/or get access to embargoed materials, please register on the IPCC website here:
https://apps.ipcc.ch/eventmanager/press/register.php.
Please ensure that you have scanned copies of your credentials ready when you start filling in the form, as the system will not allow you to proceed without uploading these. You can upload up to two files in JPG, PNG and PDF formats.
The required credentials are:
• A letter of assignment requesting accreditation on official letterhead of a media organization, signed by the publisher, editor-in-chief, or assignment editor. It should include the name and duration of assignment of the journalist; and
• A valid press card; or a valid media accreditation badge for the United Nations in New York, Geneva, Vienna or Nairobi. If you do not have a press card, please submit 3 recent samples (i.e. from the last six months) of your work in a relevant area and a scanned copy of a valid photo ID or passport.
Before filling in the form, please carefully read the guidelines below, which need to be followed by all users, including media representatives who have used the system before.
On the IPCC media portal, follow the following steps:
• Select the event;
• Select from the following options: opening session; press conference; embargo. You can choose one, two, or all three options;
• Fill in the rest of the form;
• Upload your credentials;
• Click “Submit”;
• Read information on the pop-up window and click “I agree” to submit the form.
The IPCC media team will review your credentials. When you are registered to attend the opening session and/or the press conference you will receive a confirmation email with a document that you must bring with you to pick up your badge at the media desk in Geneva. If you request access to embargo materials, the email you receive will have credentials to use to log into the system. To access the system you will need to agree to respect the terms of the embargo.
Please note that due to the high number of requests, approval of registration might take a number of days.
If you have used the system before, the email that you receive will indicate that you should use “Your global IPCC password”, which refers to your previous password. In case you have lost it, please click “Forgot password” on the IPCC media registration page.
The deadline for registration is Friday 26 July 2019. We encourage you to register as soon as possible and not leave it to the last minute as the IPCC has limited capacity to deal with late or last-minute requests. The IPCC cannot guarantee that it will be able to review requests submitted after the deadline.
Embargoed materials are primarily for the use of media covering the report, but access may be extended to relevant bodies preparing communications activities and materials to coincide with the release of the report. Like media representatives, you will be required when registering and when accessing materials to agree to respect the terms of the embargo.
Registration details
Each member of a media team should register separately using a different email address in order to get access to the venue. If you work as a photographer or as part of a TV crew you are asked to indicate this on the letter of assignment so that the IPCC can plan sufficient space. Please also state any special requirements, e.g. for TV crews.
There is limited space for satellite trucks and wireless broadcasting is preferred due to space limitations. If you need space for this, please let us know on your letter of assignment. Please also indicate whether you would like satellite broadcast facilities. The deadline for these requests is 26 July 2019.
In order to get access to the opening session and press conference venue, you will need to pick up your press badge at the WMO building. The desk will be open at the following times (CEST):
• 16.00 – 18.00 on 1 August 2019
• 08.00 – 10.00 on 2 August 2019
• 16.00 – 18.00 on 7 August 2019
• 09.00 – 10.00 on 8 August 2019
To facilitate the process, please bring with you the original credentials that you submitted with your request and your passport or a valid ID, as well as the confirmation document. We advise you to pick up your badges as early as possible and not wait until the last minute.
Other arrangements
The IPCC will advise nearer the time how to request interviews both in person at the site of the press conference and by phone or email, and how to access the live stream of the press conference, and will issue a further advisory on arrangements for broadcasters.
For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Jonathan Lynn, + 41 22 730 8066, Werani Zabula, + 41 22 730 8120, Nina Peeva, + 41 22 730 8142
Notes for editors
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was adopted and accepted in May 2019.
Besides the Special Report on Climate Change and Land, the IPCC is working on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which will be considered by the Panel at its 51st Session scheduled for 20 – 23 September 2019 in the Principality of Monaco.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch
IPCC Secretariat
c/o World Meteorological Organization
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