Congratulations to ANU ICEDS members named as Lead Authors for the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).  

Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick from the Fenner School of Environment & Society is a Coordinating Lead Author with Working Group I, Chapter 3: Changes in regional climate and extremes, and their causes. Working Group I assesses the physical science of climate change and examines the physical science underpinning past, present, and future climate change. Also in WGI is Dr Nicola Maher from the Research School of Earth Sciences. Dr Maher is a Lead Author for Chapter 6: Global projections of Earth system responses across time scales. 

Professor Perkins-Kirkpatrick and Dr Maher also hold roles with the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather as Deputy Director and Chief Investigator respectively.  

ICEDS Interim Director Professor Llewelyn Hughes is Lead Author for Chapter 1 of Working Group III, Introduction and Framing. Working Group III focuses on climate change mitigation, assessing methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.  

This incredible cohort join the AR7 efforts of ICEDS members Distinguished Professor Xuemei Bai from the Fenner School of Environment & Society who was previously announced as a Coordinating Lead Author for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (SR Cities) and Working Group II Vice-Chair Emeritus Professor Mark Howden AC FAA FTSE.  

Other ANU affiliated Lead Authors include Honorary Associate Professors Andy Reisinger (independent) and Uday Nidumolu (CSIRO) as well as Honorary Professor Nerilie Abram (Australian Antarctic Program).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) draws climate scientists from around the world together to access the current state of climate science and to assess the impacts the changing climate is having on the globe. 

Teams of experts work together to create what is known as an Assessment Report (AR) every five to seven years – a highly detailed and exhaustive examination of global climate systems. Assessment Reports are the result of extensive collaboration among scientists worldwide and are developed in phases over several years.

Being asked to contribute to an Assessment Report is a great honour and ICEDS is extremely proud to list the above authors in our membership.

You can read more at the IPCC site here.

Image: L to R: (Upper row) Bai, Hughes, Maher, Perkins-Kirkpatrick (Lower row) Abram, Howden, Nidumolu, Reisinger.