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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is set to release their second major report on February 28, 2022 that assess the impacts of our global climate crisis and the strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Three IC3 members, Luna Khirfan, Robert McLeman, and Linda Mortsch are lead authors in the Working Group II report and have been working with top scientists from around the world for the past several years.
These reports are a key input for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and international negotiations to address climate change. The upcoming Working Group II report, along with an earlier report on the physical science of climate change released in the fall of 2021, are part of the IPCC’s sixth assessment of the state of the knowledge of the climate crisis. University of Waterloo researchers have contributed to each of the IPCC assessments since it was initially formed in 1988.
Luna Khirfan, Associate Professor at the School of Planning, is the lead author on the report’s chapter on cities, settlements and key infrastructure.
Robert McLeman, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, is a Convening Lead Author for chapter seven, which covers climate change impacts on health (including mental health), wellbeing, migration, displacement and conflict.
Linda Mortsch, Climate Change Specialist with the Faculty of Environment and Researcher at Environment and Climate Change Canada, is the Convening Lead Author for the North America Chapter.
Their contributions to Working Group II will advance the work in climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Following this release, the Working Group III report will be published later in the spring of 2022.