The
world climate conferences are a series of international meetings, organized by the
World Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 188 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
(WMO), about global climate issues. The first two conferences largely focused on
climate changeClimate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average...
in addition to climate research and forecasting. The next upcoming conference is World Climate Conference-3, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, 31 August to 04 September 2009. The theme of the upcoming conference is "Climate prediction and information for decision-making".
The
world climate conferences are a series of international meetings, organized by the
World Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 188 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
(WMO), about global climate issues. The first two conferences largely focused on
climate changeClimate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average...
in addition to climate research and forecasting. The next upcoming conference is World Climate Conference-3, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, 31 August to 04 September 2009. The theme of the upcoming conference is "Climate prediction and information for decision-making". Recognizing the growing evidence for the widespread effects of climate variability and change, it aims to spur global action now for countries to cope with both current and future changes.
Past World Climate Conferences
The
First World Climate Conference was held on 12-23 February 1979 in Geneva and sponsored by the WMO. It was one of the first major international meetings on climate change. Essentially a scientific conference, it was attended by scientists from a wide range of disciplines. In addition to the main plenary sessions, the conference organized four working groups to look into climate data, the identification of climate topics, integrated impact studies, and research on climate variability and change. The Conference led to the establishment of the
World Climate ProgrammeThe World Climate Programme was established following the first World Climate Conference in 1979. The major sponsors are the World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and...
and the
World Climate Research ProgrammeThe World Climate Research Programme was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization, and has also been sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO since 1993. It is a component of the...
. It also led to the creation of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme , two organizations...
(IPCC) by WMO and UNEP in 1988.
The
Second Climate Conference was held on 29 October to 7 November 1990, again in Geneva. It was an important step towards a global climate treaty and somewhat more political than the first conference. The main task of the conference was to review the WCP set up by the first conference. The
IPCCThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme , two organizations...
first assessment report had been completed in time for this conference. The scientists and technology experts at the conference issued a strong statement highlighting the risk of climate change. The conference issued a Ministerial Declaration only after hard bargaining over a number of difficult issues; the declaration disappointed many of the participating scientists as well as some observers because it did not offer a high level of commitment. Eventually, however, developments at the conference led to the establishment of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992...
(UNFCC), of which the Kyoto Protocol is a part, and to the establishment of the
Global Climate Observing SystemThe Global Climate Observing System is an international institution co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization , the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme , and the International Council for Science...
(GCOS), a global observing system of systems for climate and climate-related observations.
World Climate Conference-3
World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3) is scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, 31 August - 4 September 2009. Its focus is on climate predictions and information for decision-making at the seasonal to multi-decadal timescales. The goal is to create a global framework that will link scientific advances in these climate predictions and the needs of their users for decision-making to better cope with changing conditions. Key users of climate predictions include food producers, water managers, energy developers and managers, public health workers, national planners, tourism managers and others, as well as society at large. Participants in WCC-3 will include these users, as well as climate service providers and high-level policy-makers. The Conference also aims to increase commitment to, and advancements in, climate observations and monitoring to better provide climate information and services worldwide that will improve public safety and well-being.
WCC-3
WCC-3 outcomes also are intended to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations
Millennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
and broader UN climate goals, including the Hyogo Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Reduction. The Conference theme complements global work under way to help societies adapt to climate change in line with Bali Action Plan, especially the Nairobi Work Programme. The outcomes will form part of WMO input to the 2009 UNFCC COP-15 meeting for climate mitigation in Copenhagen in the December following WCC-3.
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