CALL
FOR SUBMISSIONS
American
Geophysical
Union Chapman Conference
Communicating
Climate
Science: A Historic Look to the Future
June
8-13, 2013, Snow Mountain Ranch, Granby, CO, USA
The
AGU Chapman Conference (AGUCC) will focus
on communication about climate science to all sectors of
society. The Climate
Change Community must move forward on multiple pathways to
convey climate change research, mitigation and adaptation plans
and policies and technologies to policy makers, planners, and
society at all levels. As
climate science has developed over time, there has been a
significant shift in relations between the science and political
aspects thereof; where previously the development of the science
was exclusively prioritized, now the focus lies in communicating
the science to society. It is imperative that we determine an
appropriate balance between these two elements, ensuring that
neither is too shallow or deep.
Broader
impact: The
AGUCC
plans to invite key speakers and discussion leaders from major
climate and social science groups, journalists, communicators,
policymakers, and representatives of public opinion. The
conference will begin with a historical perspective
on how climate science was communicated in the past and
transition to a discussion about how more effective
communication strategies may be developed in the future. The
conference will also consider the importance of more coherent,
uniform and consistent messaging by scientific societies and
agencies in delivering knowledge about climate change.
Immediate
Outcomes:
(1) Participants will be
encouraged to submit short discussion papers to a refereed
proceedings volume and/or a special section of a scientific
journal. (2) We are
planning a textbook in which the main results of the AGUCC will
be presented, and (3) a documentary film and education website
will be produced based on interviews with conference
participants, including a section conveying the conference
findings (see further discussion below).
The conference is being held in honor of the contributions
of prominent climate scientists Bert Bolin and Stephen Schneider.
Content of the Education documentary
and website: The presentations will feature
four levels of discussion summarizing results from the AGUCC
about: (i) the state of knowledge about
climate change, impacts, mitigation and adaptation globally.
(ii) key regional
issues within North America (iii)
international locales where climate change is creating
immediate critical challenges and risks; (iv) solutions to our
climate change challenges. This
work is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research
Council Canada under the leadership of James Byrne, a
co-convener of the meeting. The
goal the documentary project is
to communicate climate change science and solutions from the
research community to society.
Overall
Objectives
1. Review and
analyze historical and current communication ways and means for
climate science;
2. Identify education
resources and capacity currently available and gaps in the
resources and capacity that must be addressed;
3. Identify the
communications and education bottlenecks preventing actions on
GHG emission reductions and the transition to a sustainable
energy future;
4. Identify multiple
communication strategies for conveying climate science, and
mitigation and adaptation programs, polices and technologies to
policy makers and governments at all levels;
5. Explore strategies
for promoting the use of accurate and engaging educational
materials in classrooms, and for public and community outreach;
6. Identify and reach
out to wide-ranging distribution networks for getting education
materials to many levels of society in North America;
7. Identify resource
needs and sources for addressing climate science communication
and education;
8. Identify current
and required resources and capacity for addressing critical
needs in science, mitigation and adaptation.
AGUCC Co-conveners
-- James M. Byrne, PhD University of Lethbridge “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.” Albert Einstein