Media registration for IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere

Registration deadline extended to 23 September 2019

GENEVA, Aug 14 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will consider the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) on 20-23 September 2019 during its 51st Session to be held in the Principality of Monaco. The report is due to be launched on 25 September 2019.

The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate assesses physical processes and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems. It also assesses consequences for human communities and options for people to adapt to climate-related changes for a more sustainable future.

The word “cryosphere” – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the frozen components of the Earth system, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, icebergs and sea ice, ice on lakes and rivers as well as permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.

Formally, the draft Summary for Policymakers (SPM) will be considered by the Second Joint Session of IPCC Working Groups I and II. The outcome of the Working Group Session is then submitted to the 51st Session of the IPCC for acceptance.

This advisory explains how media can register for the Opening Ceremony, the press conference and embargoed materials. The registration deadline is 6 p.m. Friday, 13 September 2019, Geneva time (CEST). Further information will be provided soon about the live stream of the press conference, submission of interview requests, options for broadcasters and access to video footage.

Press conference

A press conference to present the Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere will be held after the 51st Session of the IPCC, subject to approval of the Summary for Policymakers.

When:             11:00 a.m. CEST (Monaco) on Wednesday 25 September 2019

(05.00 EDT (New York), 09:00 GMT, 10:00 BST (London), 12:00 EAT (Nairobi), 16:00 ICT (Bangkok))

Where:            Oceanographic Museum of Monaco

Avenue Saint-Martin, Monaco

IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, Vice-Chair Ko Barrett, and the Co-Chairs of IPCC Working Groups I and II of the IPCC – Valérie Masson-Delmotte (France), Hans-Otto Pörtner (Germany), Debra Roberts (South Africa) and Panmao Zhai (China) – will present key aspects of the Special Report and respond to questions from journalists attending the press conference on site or remotely.

The press conference will be streamed live. Details on how to access the live stream and ask questions online will be sent closer to the time.

The IPCC Chair, Vice-Chair, Co-Chairs and authors of the Special Report will be available for interviews after the press conference. Interviews can be conducted in person, on the phone or online. Details on how media can request interviews will be sent in the coming weeks.

Please follow the instructions below to register for the press conference (“How to register”).

Opening Ceremony

The 51st Session of the IPCC will be opened by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, and by senior officials from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

When:          10:00 a.m. (CEST) on Friday 20 September 2019

Where:         Grimaldi Forum, Salle Prince Pierre

10 Avenue Princesse Grace, Monaco

The Opening Ceremony is open to the media. A limited number of places are available for journalists and priority will be given to wire services and local media. Apart from the Opening Ceremony, the IPCC meeting is closed to the public and media.

Please follow the instructions below to register for the Opening Ceremony (“How to register”).

Embargoed materials

The Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the press release and additional materials will be made available under embargo to registered media shortly after the approval of the Summary for Policymakers.

Media representatives who would like to have access to these embargoed materials are requested to check the option for “embargo” on the online registration form. Please note that registering for the Opening Ceremony and/or the press conference does not automatically provide you with access to embargoed materials.

The embargo will run until the start of the press conference. Registered media will receive an email alert when the embargoed materials are posted. The exact time at which the embargoed materials are made available will depend on the time the plenary approves the Summary for Policymakers and accepts the underlying report.

Registering for access to embargoed materials will require media representatives to agree to adhere to the terms of the embargo. Journalists or media outlets who fail to adhere to the terms and conditions will be excluded from future embargo arrangements.

How to register

The IPCC operates its own registration and accreditation system. Registration is required to attend the press conference and/or opening ceremony in person, and/or to access embargoed materials. It is not necessary to register to follow the live stream of the press conference and ask questions online.

Please check the IPCC accreditation and registration FAQs for detailed instructions at http://bit.ly/ipcc-media-accreditation-FAQs

To attend the press conference and/or the opening ceremony in person and/or get access to embargoed materials, please register on the IPCC website here:

https://apps.ipcc.ch/eventmanager/press/register.php

Please ensure that you have scanned copies of your credentials ready when you start filling in the form, as the system will not allow you to proceed without uploading these. You can upload up to two files in JPG, PNG and PDF formats.

The required credentials are:

  • A letter of assignment requesting accreditation on official letterhead of a media organization, signed by the publisher, editor-in-chief, or assignment editor. It should include the name and duration of assignment of the journalist; and
  • A valid press card or a valid media accreditation badge for the United Nations in New York, Geneva, Vienna or Nairobi. If you do not have a press card, please submit 3 recent samples (i.e. from the last six months) of your work in a relevant area and a scanned copy of a valid photo ID or passport.

Before filling in the form, please carefully read the guidelines below, which need to be followed by all users, including media representatives who have used the system before.

On the IPCC media portal, follow the following steps:

  • Select the event;
  • Select from the following options: opening session; press conference; embargo. You can choose one, two or all three options;
  • Fill in the rest of the form;
  • Upload your credentials;
  • Click “Submit”;
  • Read information on the pop-up window and click “I agree” to submit the form.

If you complete this process successfully a pop-up window will confirm your submission. The IPCC media team will then review your credentials.

When you are registered to attend the Opening Ceremony and/or the press conference, you will receive a confirmation email with a document that you are required to bring with you to pick up your badge at the media desk in Monaco. If you request access to the embargoed materials, the email you receive will have credentials to use to log into the system. To access the system you will need to agree to respect the terms of the embargo.

Please note that due to the high number of requests, approval of registration might take a number of days. Please avoid asking the IPCC for confirmation during that period. Please email the IPCC media team at ipcc-media@wmo.int if you have not received confirmation or credentials after one week.

If you have used the system before, the email that you receive will indicate that you should use “Your global IPCC password”, which refers to your previous password. In case you have lost it, please click “Forgot password” on the IPCC media registration page.

The deadline for registration is 6 p.m. Geneva time (CEST), Friday 13 September 2019. We encourage you to register as soon as possible and not leave it to the last minute as the IPCC has limited capacity to deal with late or last-minute requests. The IPCC cannot guarantee that it will be able to review requests submitted after the deadline.

Embargoed materials are primarily for the use of media covering the report, but access may be extended to relevant bodies preparing communications activities and materials to coincide with the release of the report, such as institutions with authors working on the report. Similarly to media representatives, these institutions will be required to agree to respect the terms of the embargo when registering and when accessing materials.

 

Registration details

Each member of a media team should register separately using a different email address in order to obtain access to the Opening Ceremony, the press conference and/or the embargoed materials. If you work as a photographer or as part of a TV crew you are asked to indicate this on the letter of assignment so that the IPCC can plan sufficient space. Please also state any special requirements, e.g. for TV crews.

There is very limited space for satellite trucks and wireless broadcasting is preferred due to space limitations. If you need space for this, please let us know on your letter of assignment. The deadline for these requests is 13 September 2019.

In order to get access to the opening ceremony and press conference venue, you will need to pick up your press badge. The desk will be open at the following times (CEST):

  • 16.00 – 18.00 on 19 September 2019 (Grimaldi Forum)
  • 08.00 – 10.00 on 20 September 2019 (Grimaldi Forum)
  • 16.00 – 18.00 on 24 September 2019 (Oceanographic Museum)
  • 08.00 – 11:00 on 25 September 2019 (Oceanographic Museum)

To facilitate the process, please bring with you the original credentials that you submitted with your request and your passport or a valid ID, as well as the confirmation document. We advise you to pick up your badges as early as possible and not wait until the last minute.

Other arrangements

The IPCC will advise how to request interviews both in person at the site of the press conference and by phone or online, how to access the live stream of the press conference and options for broadcasters.

Video footage from the Opening Ceremony and press conference will be provided online. Details will be shared in a further media advisory nearer the time.

 For more information contact:

IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int

Jonathan Lynn, + 41 22 730 8066, Werani Zabula, + 41 22 730 8120, Nina Peeva, + 41 22 730 8142

 

Notes for Editors

About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.

IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.

The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.

To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.

The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.

IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.

About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.

The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019.

The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.

For more information go to www.ipcc.ch