CliC SSG Chair Greg Flato attended the most recent discussions of Future Earth for the Global Environmental Change (GEC) projects (Diversitas, IGBP, IHDP, WCRP and ESSP), held online 3 July 2013. The objectives of this Future Earth webinar were to provide an opportunity for introduction and initial discussion between the Future Earth leadership (Science Committee chair and vice-chairs, and director of the interim secretariat) and the GEC projects; discuss projects’ scientific interests, expectations and vision for the further development of Future Earth and identify potential areas for collaboration across projects, and ideas for new scientific activities; and inform the definition of a process for the transition of projects into Future Earth from both a scientific and practical perspectives (to be developed over the coming months).
Future Earth is an international initiative for global sustainability sponsored by the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability comprising the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum of funding agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the World Metereological Organization as an observer. As CliC is a core project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) which is sponsored by ICSU, we are part of the ICSU GEC family and hope to fit our efforts into the new Future Earth initiative. Future Earth will develop the knowledge for responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change and for supporting transformation towards global sustainability in the coming decades.