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Professor Chris Gordon of the University of Ghana welcomes attendees.
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Authors of the Africa chapter consult.
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Traditional dancing at the evening reception.
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Dr Emma Archer van Garderen, CSIR Natural Resources & the Environment
Authors comprising members of Working Group 2 (WG2) and Working Group 3 (WG3) (namely, impacts and mitigation respectively) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) gathered in Accra, Ghana, to attend the Africa Regional Experts meeting.
In his introduction, Professor Chris Gordon of the University of Ghana noted that the Accra meeting, one of a range of IPCC regional meetings, represents the first time that WG2 and WG3 experts have had a chance to consult and work together face to face in their regions.
Sessions comprised a series of fascinating presentations, including Professor Bruce Hewitson, who provided an overview of climate change science. Professor Hewitson of the Climate Systems Analysis Group of the University of Cape Town (UCT), indicated that regions remain the most necessary question for decision-makers (predictably), yet remain most subject to over-interpretation.
Professor Hewitson concluded with a description of possibly the most important climate change science initiative for Africa to date - CORDEX Africa - or the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment - a key initiative to which SARVA also links. The Africa Analysis, a CORDEX process within which UCT and CSIR Climate Studies & Modelling are, amongst other partners, highly active, remains an essential area of activity for 2011 and 2012.
Dr Youba Sokona, the co-chair of WG3, subsequently provided an equally fascinating overview of the WG3 reviewed work on mitigation. Indicating that the revised emissions scenarios approach within the IPCC recognises that a range of stabilisation levels can be achieved by either current technology portfolios or future commercialised technologies, Dr Sokona indicated that now, more than ever, the development path is as important as the emissions pathway itself.
Overall, the meeting proved to be a fascinating few days of key material, and often very lively debates. IPCC authors from the region are hopeful that such regional meetings will occur again in the future, to provide authors with up to date material, and further opportunities for spirited discussion.
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