The second Conference, “Scientific Evidence and Public Policy: Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean”, will take place from September 7-10 and is organized by the Ministry of Science, the Scientific Committee on Climate Change, the European Union, and MERI Foundation.
This activity will bring together leading experts from the IPCC, research centres, decision-makers and civil society representatives to discuss the challenges of linking evidence on climate change with adaptation and mitigation measures in the region.
In order to enable and strengthen the linkage and collaboration between the scientific community related to Climate Change and decision-makers in Latin America, the Ministry of Science, the Scientific Committee on Climate Change, the European Union and MERI Foundation, invite to the “Second Conference on Scientific Evidence and Public Policy: Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean”.
The meeting will be held remotely from September 7th to 10tth to review the conclusions of the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and promote the use of evidence for the formulation of public policies in three main areas: updating scientific evidence; observation and monitoring systems, and scientific advisory mechanisms.
This activity is developed through the European Union’s Euroclima + program, as part of the contribution given to Chile in its role as Presidency of COP25. Registrations and the program are available at the following link: https://live.eventtia.com/en/2da-conferencia-cambioclimatico
Andrés Couve, Chile’s Minister of Science said, “Since the creation of our Scientific Committee on Climate Change in 2019, we aim to increase the use of evidence for sustainable public policies and to promote the availability of information for coordinated climate action. The IPCC’s latest report noted the unprecedented impact of human activity on climate. In this second version of the conference, we hope to address urgent pressing issues such as the gap in the availability of climate data in Latin American and Caribbean countries and strategies to link evidence with adaptation and mitigation measures to put the region on a sustainable path”.
The conference will be attended by IPCC vice-chairs Thelma Krug and Ko Barrett, as well as leading researchers from climate change centres in countries such as Chile, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador, including Maisa Rojas, Sebastián Vicuña, José Marengo, Inés Camilloni and José Manuel Gutiérrez, and representatives from European organizations and research centres.
The Chilean Minister of the Environment and President of COP25, Carolina Schmidt, highlighted the institutionalization of the role of science in formulating the draft bill of Chile’s Framework Law on Climate Change, in updating the NDC, and the drafting of the Long-Term Climate Strategy (LTCS), among other national policies that are currently under development. She also stressed the need to strengthen the generation of regional scientific knowledge on climate change to contribute to the work of the IPCC and to install a common platform for science-policy dialogue in the region. Finally, she emphasized that “science is non-negotiable. In Chile, we have decided to tackle climate change ambitiously and based on science as a state policy that transcends the governments in office, which has been widely recognised internationally. For this reason, after the latest IPCC report, President Sebastián Piñera has asked for immediate discussion of the draft Framework Law on Climate Change”.
The EU Ambassador in Chile, León de la Torre Krais, said that “enhancing the role of science in the construction of public policy is key to address crises of all kinds, such as disease outbreaks and long-term challenges such as climate change. At the European Union, we believe it is essential to strengthen the science-policy dialogue and put science at the heart of decision-making.”
“Climate change is a matter for all of us and requires a decisive and multidimensional response. It calls on States as well as the private sector and civil society. Chile has the opportunity to be a global example, so the call is to join efforts in climate mitigation. We cannot continue with the same recipes. We must put the climate crisis at the centre of decisions, from industrial to social affairs”, said Patricia Morales Errazuriz, General Manager of Filantropía Cortés Solari.
Meanwhile, the executive director of MERI Foundation, Ana María Molina, pointed out that “the call we are making is to put science at the heart of decision-making. This conference is very valuable, contributing to the democratization of scientific knowledge, as the latest IPCC report will be addressed in conjunction with communities, young leaders, economists, scientists to promote dialogue and decisions that will lead us to a sustainable