| Session Details | |
| Section | IG - Interdisciplinary Geosciences |
| Session Title | Downscaling Applications in Climate Information and Services for Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (IAV) Assessments |
| Main Convener | Dr. C. Kendra Gotangco (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Seita Emori (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan) Dr. Izuru Takayabu (Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency, Japan) |
| Session Description | The demands for scientifically-based climate information are growing rapidly, spurred by the increasing recognition that human-caused climate change is a serious issue for all countries, that it will continue even with intense mitigation efforts, and that adaptation to changing climate is necessary in order to minimize negative impacts and capitalize, where possible, on positive impacts. Detailed regional climate information (both historical and future) is required to develop policies, to assess impacts and vulnerabilities, and to plan adaptation. Of particular concern in the IAV community are the food security and agriculture, water, health, ecosystem and disaster risk management sectors. However, the provision of such regional climate services requires the interaction between the downscaling community and the IAV community. Issues that would benefit from closer coordination and dialogue include the types of content and scenarios needed for IAV assessments across the different sectors, as well as guidance in the application of these scenarios and the interpretation of uncertainties. It is crucial to ensure that the research and information needs for IAV assessments are understood, that new developments in climate science are communicated to users, and that decision-makers and researchers work together to co-produce new initiatives that meet the needs of both communities. This session aims to engage both modelers/downscalers, e.g. from the CORDEX community, and researchers/practitioners in the IAV community, to encourage dialogue and to clarify IAV user needs and experiences relating to regional climate information and services. Presentations for this session may fall under the following themes: 1. Latest updates on modeling/downscaling activities and products (e.g. available scenarios), particularly from CORDEX, for IAV assessment in the Asia Pacific, and insights on climate information from a modeling/downscaling perspective that are relevant to the IAV community, particularly on guidance for interpreting uncertainties due to model dependency, downscaling techniques, internal climate variability or scenarios, so as to still produce useful assessments. 2. Studies demonstrating the interface/interaction between modelers and the IAV community across different sectors (e.g. agriculture and food security, health, water, ecosystem, disaster risk management) and the insights or challenges in the co-design, co-production and communication of climate information and services. This session is hosted by the Working Group on Regional Climate (WGRC) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). It was designed in consultation with the SOUSEI program. |