The International Scientific Conference “Our Common Future under Climate Change” took place at UNESCO and UPMC (Paris) in July 2015.
This four-day conference was the largest forum for the scientific community to come together ahead of the 21st UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21), hosted by France in December 2015 (“Paris Climat 2015”). Building on the results of IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5), the Conference addressed key issues concerning climate change in the broader context of global change. It offered an opportunity to discuss solutions for both mitigation and adaptation issues. The Conference also welcomed Side Events organized by different stakeholders.
The conference was organized under the umbrella of ICSU, Future Earth, UNESCO and major French research institutions, with the support of the French Government.
The Conference had four overarching objectives:
- Provide state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on climate change, one year after the release of IPCC AR5: physical basis of climate change, impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, mitigation, storylines and scenarios
- Explore a wide range of pathways combining climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable development
- Assess the potential for evidence-based solutions to climate change challenges.
- Contribute to a science-society dialogue.
Through Plenaries and Parallel Sessions, all major issues were explored through overarching daily themes, moving from present knowledge to future solutions.
A large emphasis was placed on exploring climate change issues through transdisciplinary and integrative approaches, underscoring the need for solutions that cut across sectors and systems and that join stakeholders and communities. The Conference sessions encouraged multi-disciplinary and multi-lateral thinking to explore the wide range of topics that cut across climate change issues, from physical feedbacks to social and economic impacts. The Conference sessions offered a broad base for examining a multitude of issues covering the complex and inter-related science-human aspects of climate change.
