eThekwini municipality Department of Environmental Planning and Climate Protection head Dr Debra Roberts has been appointed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II co-chair, marking the first time a South African has been selected to a co-chair position in the IPCC Bureau.
Together with Germany’s Professor Hans‐Otto Pörtner, Roberts would lead the preparation of the Working Group II report, which assessed options around climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation for the IPCC’s sixth assessment report.
Established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization in 1988, the IPCC was the leading international body for the assessment of the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of climate change.
Congratulating Roberts on her election, the national Department of Environmental Affairs noted that her appointment paved the way for African scientists to be more effectively involved in the preparation of the global climate change assessment.
“The involvement of the African scientists in understanding the problems and possible range of responses to climate change is critical, especially as climate change adaptation is a central and critical concern for Africa, which is among the most vulnerable of continents to the impacts of climate change.
“A strong African voice is, therefore, key in finding real and workable solutions to the global climate change challenge,” it said in a statement.
The election took place during the forty-second session of the IPCC Bureau held from October 5 to 8, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where Dr Hoesung Lee from the Republic of Korea was elected as the new IPCC chairperson.