IPCC: Call for Authors and Review Editors for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities

Deadline: For timely nomination, experts should communicate their interest asap, but not later than 10 September 2024 (experts will be asked then to fill out the corresponding nomination form until 16 September 2024).

Outline and schedule: The outline and the schedule of the report is available here.

Expertise in demand: The IPCC requires that the nominee(s) have appropriate expertise. All nominations should indicate the chapter(s) and author role(s) for which the candidate is being nominated, a specification of the nominees’ key area of expertise and be accompanied by a curriculum vitae and a list of relevant publications.

Writing and review process: A detailed description of the IPCC writing and review process is contained in the “Procedures for the Preparation, Review, Acceptance, Adoption, Approval and Publication of IPCC Reports” which can be viewed on the IPCC website.
The tasks and responsibilities for Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors, and Review Editors are specified in the Annex 1 to these procedures.

Tasks: The task of Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors is a demanding one. They are responsible, in particular, for drafting the different chapters of the Special Report and thereafter revising those taking into account comments submitted during the two IPCC-mandated reviews, namely the expert review and the second review by governments and experts. A subgroup of authors will also contribute to drafting, revising, and finalizing the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of this Special Report.

Meetings: The Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors will be expected to attend four Lead Author meetings between 2025 and 2026 and possibly other chapter drafting meetings. In order to reduce the amount of travel, most chapter drafting meetings will be conducted through web conferences. The presence of Coordinating Lead Authors and selected Lead Authors may be requested at Sessions of the IPCC and its Working Groups in early 2027 to assist in finalizing the SPM. The time commitment of Review Editors is less than that for Lead Authors but will include attendance at two Lead Authors’ meetings in 2026.

Financial Support: ProClim on behalf of the FOEN will be able to reimburse travel (economy class) and accommodation costs to Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors based in Switzerland. Unfortunately, a compensation for working time is not possible.

Selection: Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors will be selected by the Working Group I, II and III Bureau. The composition of the group of Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors for each chapter shall aim to reflect: the range of technical and socio-economic views and expertise, including experts from academia and practitioners and policymakers; geographical representation, ensuring appropriate representation of experts from developing and developed countries and countries with economies in transition; a mixture of experts with and without previous experience in IPCC; and gender balance.

How to be nominated: If you are interested to act as an author or review editor in one or several chapters of the report, please contact urs.neu@scnat.ch (until 10 September 2024 the latest) and we will then send you the corresponding nomination form to fill out and send back until 16 September 2024.
Please note:

• A short CV of max. 4 pages (pdf) should be added to the nomination form.
• Experts can be nominated for a maximum of 3 chapters.

The FOEN, as Swiss Focal Point for the IPCC, will nominate the Swiss experts.

If you have any questions concerning the report, please contact urs.neu@scnat.ch.