ICSU and the ICSU World Data System have each organised side events to the Our Common Future Under Climate Change Conference, Paris, 7-10 July 2015.
Science and the Road to Transformation: Opportunities in the post-2015 Global Climate Regime
The International Council for Science has historically played a central role in the development of climate science at the global level, from its prominent role in the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to being one of the international sponsors of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).
To explore the scientific knowledge from across the disciplines and from different parts of the world that can drive and support a world transformation to a low-carbon future, the event will bring together the leadership of ICSU co-sponsored research programmes, international scientific committees and networks, leading science advice practitioners and other representatives of the world’s scientific community.
Aims:
Identify the most critical scientific knowledge that can and does offer transformative opportunities in dealing with climate change challenges;
Explore what needs to change in our current science systems to leverage those opportunities;
Draw on the diversity of ICSU-led international scientific community to develop the key science messages that could be presented to the 21st UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21) within the framework of an ICSU statement and official side event ;
Showcase the achievements of ICSU co-sponsored research programmes, international committees and networks in providing improved understanding of climate change.
CODATA will be among the ICSU programmes and interdisicplinary bodies contributing to this event.
Trusted Data Services to Support Climate Change Research
Several high-profile cases have highlighted the need for open sharing of quality-assured data underlying published scientific knowledge. For example, the integrity of data underlying critical climate research was challenged in the so-called Climategate, and several scientific studies have reported the impossibility of reproducing results of experimental research because of missing or poor quality datasets. Scientific data services—with certified technical and scientific capacities—are essential components of the research environment. They play an essential role in ensuring the integrity and availability of datasets, and thus promote trust in open science.
Global scientific initiatives, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Polar Years, provide ample evidence that appropriate acquisition, handling, sharing, exploitations and dissemination of scientific research data is of critical importance to the success of critical international collaborative endeavours. Appropriate provisions must be made at an early stage, and as an integral part of the scientific planning, to identify and secure reliable and trustworthy scientific data services to support research activities.