Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP)
The ESSP is a partnership for the integrated study of the Earth System, the ways that it is changing, and the implications for global and regional sustainability.
The urgency of the challenge is great: In the present era, global environmental changes are both accelerating and moving the earth system into a state with no analogue in previous history.
Click here for ESSP Briefing Paper.
The Earth System is the unified set of physical, chemical, biological and social components, processes and interactions that together determine the state and dynamics of Planet Earth, including its biota and its human occupants.
Earth System Science is the study of the Earth System, with an emphasis on observing, understanding and predicting global environmental changes involving interactions between land, atmosphere, water, ice, biosphere, societies, technologies and economies.
Employment Opportunities: Global Water System Project
The Global Water System Project (GWSP) seeks an Executive Officer (EO) and a Science Officer (SO) to coordinate the research and outreach activities of the Project. Deadline for applications is 31 December 2008. To learn more about these exciting opportunities, please click on the following links: Executive Officer and Science Officer.
ESSP Research on Bioenergy and Earth Sustainability
The ESSP, led by the Global Carbon Project with support from the IGBP Office in Brazil, has developed a research activity on Bioenergy and Earth Sustainability that will tap GEC programme-wide expertise for the benefit of science and society. There have been many earlier studies on bioenergy but this research initiative is unique in that it develops an Earth system approach to bioenergy, its opportunities and constraints, its contributions to stabilizing atmospheric CO2 as well as trade offs and synergies for engaging in sustainable pathways. This study also provides ample opportunities to evaluate the effects of biomass energy production on food availability and prices, water availability, water pollution, and biodiversity, in addition to analyzing the capacity of bioenergy in climate protection.
You can learn more about this exciting research initiative in an article that featured in the recently published IHDP Science-Policy Update. Click here to see article.
The Update is the magazine for the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change Research (IHDP). This special edition focuses on Science-Policy Dialogues 2008: Energy, Sustainability and Societal Change. Click here to see IHDP Update, ISSN 1727-155X.
World Energy Outlook 2008 - Global Carbon Project Contribution
The World Energy Outlook produced every year by the International Energy Agency is the most prestigious source of world energy supply and demand trends. The ESSP's Global Carbon Project contributed to the city modelling and analyses and took the lead in the China cities analyses. For more information, access the GCP website.
CGIAR Challenge Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Challenge Programme "Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security" (Climate Change Challenge Programme, CCCP) is a major collaborative endeavour between the CGIAR and their partners, and the ESSP. It is aimed at overcoming the additional threats posed by a changing climate to achieving food security, enhancing livelihoods and improving environmental management in the developing world.
The main objectives are:
- Overcome critical gaps in knowledge of how to enhance - and manage the tradeoffs between - food security, livelihood and environmental goals in the face of a changing climate.
- Develop and evaluate options for adapting to a changing climate to inform agricultural development, food security policy and donor investment strategies.
- Assist farmers, policy makers, researchers and donors to continually monitor, assess and adjust their actions in response to a changing climate.
In preparation for the CCCP launch in 2009, the Chairs of the Alliance Executive and the ESSP Scientific Committee are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Thomas Rosswall as Chair of the CCCP.
Click here for more details.
ESSP Review
The ICSU/IGFA Review of the ESSP has been released. The review panel, chaired by Professor Louise Fresco, took a consultative and evidence-based approach to assist the development of the ESSP. The review itself is extremely timely as ESSP is in the process of developing a new strategic plan.
Click here to access ESSP review report.
Global Carbon Emissions Rising Rapidly
The Global Carbon Project, an ESSP Joint Project, launched a new carbon budget on 25 September, a key to understanding the balance of carbon added to the atmosphere, the underpinning of human induced climate change. The growth rate of emissions has continued to speed up, with atmospheric CO2 concentrations reaching 383 parts per million in 2007. Click here to read more.
Announcement: IHDP Open Meeting, Bonn, Germany, April 2009
The IHDP announces that the 7th International Science Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Open Meeting, "Social Challenges of Global Change" originally scheduled for 15 - 19 October 2008, will take place from 26 - 30 April 2009 in Bonn, Germany. The new venue will be the former German Parliament premises at the United Nations University campus. For more details, access the IHDP website.
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION: click here for more details.
DIVERSITAS Open Science Conference
The Second DIVERSITAS Open Science Conference on "Biodiversity and Society: understanding connections, adapting to change" will be held from 13 - 16 October 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Abstract call will be open from January 2009, deadline 31 March 2009.
See Conference website (www.diversitas-osc.org) and flyer for more details.
International Scientific Congress on Climate Change
The focus of the International Association of Research Universities (IARU) Congress, that will convene in Copenhagen, 10 -12 March 2009, is to provide a picture of the "big issues" that the scientific community (including the ESSP) feels are necessary for policy makers to be aware of in order to make informed decisions concerning balancing adaptation and mitigation in societal responses to climate change. The main findings of the congress will feed directly into the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 15) hosted by the Danish government.
Conference website, www.climatecongress.ku.dk and flyer.
Register now on the conference website.
GWSP Digital Water Atlas
The Global Water System Project (GWSP) has launched its Digital Water Atlas. The purpose and intent of the Digital Water Atlas is to describe the basic elements of the Global Water System, the interlinkages of the elements and changes in the state of the Global Water System by creating a consistent set of annotated maps. The project will especially promote the collection, analysis and consideration of social science data on the global basis. Click here to access the GWSP Digital Water Atlas.
A Strategy for Global Environmental Change Research in Africa
The African Network for Earth System Science (AfricanNESS) science plan and implementation strategy "A Strategy for Global Environmental Change Research in Africa" has been completed and is now available for download. The plan focuses on four top-level issues: food and nutritional security; water resources; health; and ecosystem integrity. Framed around these issues, the science plan describes a strategy for global environmental change research in Africa that concentrates on eight thematic clusters: rainfall, land cover, livelihoods, cities, diseases and pests, Africa and the earth system, marine, and integrated development. Examples of possible research programs are provided for each of these areas. Finally, the plan outlines a way of implementing and organizing a network of earth system scientists in Africa, and connecting them to scientists around the world. The science plan was developed over a period of three years through the collective efforts of many African scientists, as well as colleagues from outside the African continent. The editors gratefully acknowledge the support from the US National Science Foundation, the South Africa National Research Foundation, IGBP, ESSP, START, and the ICSU Regional Office for Africa. Printed copies of the report are available on request from the IGBP Secretariat; please contact Sofia Roger, IGBP Information Officer.
Click here for electronic version of the report.
Carbon Neutral
The Global Carbon Project has published an ESSP commissioned report "carbon reductions and offsets" with a number of recommendations for individuals and institutions who want to participate in this voluntary market. Click here to learn more and to download the report from the GCP website.
The ESSP is a joint initiative of four global environmental change programmes:
