A world without glaciers - How can scientists contribute to enhancing climate ambition, in Switzerland and beyond?

Geneva 17:15-18:45 | Uni Mail, Bd du Pont-d’Arve 40
Glasgow 16:15-17:45  | COP26 Cryosphere pavilion

Glaciers, snow cover and permafrost are disappearing all over the world as a result of global warming. Faced with this emergency, scientists are working to improve the physical science underpinning past, present and future climate change, thus contributing to an ever-strengthening understanding of how the climate system works, and how it is changing in response to human activity. What are the new scientific findings emerging from the Sixth Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ? What are the consequences for mountain and polar regions? What risks will Switzerland be exposed to in the near future? What are the new strategies that can be adopted adopted to reduce risk? On the basis of the most recent IPCC findings (focus on Working Group 1) presented by the keynote speakers, the panelists will discuss how to raise the ambition level for achieving COP26 tangible outcomes. They will discuss what new scientific evidence is needed to improve climate policies, in Switzerland and beyond, and the role of scientists in public debates, political decision-making and collective action.

Speakers: Vice rector Jean-Marc Triscone (University of Geneva), Ambassador Stefan Estermann (Head of Prosperity and Sustainability Division, FDFA ), Prof. Samuel Jaccard (University of Lausanne),  Prof. Sonia Seneviratne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), Prof. Matthias Huss (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), Prof. Markus Stoffel (University of Geneva), Prof. Geraldine Pflieger (University of Geneva), Dr. Elena Manaenkova (Deputy Secretary-General, WMO), Dr. Sebastian König, (Chief Scientist & IPCC Focal Point of Switzerland at the Federal Office for the Environment), with the participation of members of the Swiss delegation

Moderator: Claire Doole