Two SERS members contributing to newest IPCC report
Vanessa Schweizer and Andrew Trant are helping shape the next global scientific assessment that will guide world leaders
This article is taken from the ݮƵ News story by the ݮƵ Climate Institute and Faculty of Environment.
The world has converged onBelém,Brazil’s gateway to the Amazon, tosharpen climate commitments and move from promises to implementation.It’sall happening at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30)tothe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
But setting priorities like this isn't clear-cut. Leaders are faced with political and financial tradeoffs to consider, but must also weigh the multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is where decision-makers turn to the most up-to-date scientific assessment on climate change available:. It summarizes the state of knowledge on climate change, its widespread impacts and risks and details climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions.
With the latest report now two years old, the global scientific community isonce againhard at work evaluating the current state of climate change and preparing to equip leaders with fresh evidenceand tools.Two of those experts are from our School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability and are members of the ݮƵ Climate Institute: Dr. VanessaSchweizerand Dr. Andrew Trant. We caught up with them to learn their roles in producingthe upcomingSeventh Assessmentreport, how it relates to their work atݮƵand what keeps them motivated.
Dr. Vanessa Schweizer
AtݮƵ, Schweizer’sresearch focuses on collective decision-making in the context of climate change, exploring how communities and governments articulate aspirations, exercise foresight, and negotiate tradeoffsbetween pursuing different climate actions. Her work spans the practical implications of economic activities, including how the technologies we use andourbehaviours — forexample, eating more meat or imported foods— impactthe climate. One of her core projects examines direct air capture. As an emerging technology that removes carbon dioxide from the air, it raises complex questions about energy use, cost, andplanning fora net-zero future which she is exploring.
Schweizer is contributing herexpertiseto the upcoming IPCC report as part of Working Group III on Mitigation, focusing on the chapterProjected Futures in the Context of Sustainable Development and Climate Change.As a review editor,she’llexaminethe connections between economic activities, sustainability, and climate impacts. “No single country has sustainable development totally figured out,” she explains. “For this chapter, I am looking at all the recent scientific studies on our economic activities, how sustainable they are, and how they relate to climate change.”
“ThisIPCCwork connects directly to my research at ݮƵ,” she says. “We’reall trying to decarbonize and stop greenhouse gas pollution as quickly as possible, but we also need to consider how to clean up the pollution that already exists. Technologies like direct aircapture could play a rolein shapingnew sectors forwhat sustainable development looks likein the future, which is exactly the kind of real-world challenge I study.”
“To the extent that I love the natural world, I feelit’simportant to take care of it.I care about having a peaceful, cooperative world and a healthy planet.The climate change problem is so big that countries will need to cooperate to achieve the best outcomes.”
Dr. Andrew Trant
Trant’s research examines how climate change and human activity interact to shape ecosystems over time. His fieldwork spans Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador and the Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv Territories in the Great Bear Rainforest on British Columbia’s Central Coast. Through close collaboration with Indigenous communities, his work explores how ecosystems are adapting to environmental change and how traditional knowledge can inform more resilient, place-based approaches to biodiversity conservation.
Trantis lending hisexpertisein biodiversity to the latest IPCC report as part of Working Group II on Impacts and Adaptations.As a review editor onthe chapterOcean,Coastal andCryosphericBiodiversityEcosystems and theirServices,he willfocus specifically on assessing the accuracy of indicators, methodsand methodologies used to measure climate impacts and responses.
“I really do think that it is the most important document that we have on this planet.I think that the solutionwe are working towardsruns through this documentandit'scritical foraidinggovernanceonthis issue ata global scale.”
“What fuels my commitment to working on bigger projects like the IPCC are the people,friends, colleagues, and collaborators,I’vehad over the years and continue to work with today.They’rethe reason I love what I do.”