Dear ECOLOGers,
I’m writing to invite you to attend a workshop that I am organizing for the
Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Portland. We are not just
recruiting panelists for this ESA workshop, but also the audience members -
please read on for more info.
The 1hr 45 minute workshop (11:30am – 1:15pm) during the lunch-break on
August 8th, titled “Linking biodiversity and ecosystem services in a
changing world with the Paris Climate Agreement”
(https://eco.confex.com/eco/2017/webprogram/Session13185.html), will address
the ecosystem implications of the Paris agreement. We want to highlight and
stimulate discussion around the critical ecological thresholds that may be
crossed at 1.5˚C, 2˚C, and higher temperatures under the UNFCCC’s nationally
determined contributions. We would like to look at large-scale ecosystem
threats if the Paris Agreement is not implemented, which habitats and
keystone species may be least resilient to rapid climate change and which
natural processes (such as drought and wildfires) are likely to become so
severe or extensive in a warming world that catastrophic impacts may occur.
Which are the critical ecosystems most at risk of being lost or transformed
if Paris is not implemented?
Confirmed lead panelists are Camille Parmesan (University of Texas and
Plymouth University, IPCC lead author and reviewer), Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
(University of Queensland, IPCC lead author on corals), and Oswaldo Sala
(Arizona State University, IPCC author). Our intention is to use the panel
and the workshop to stimulate and encourage experts to make new
peer-reviewed submissions in time for the second-order draft of the IPCC
Special Report on 1.5˚C. We will try to bring together clusters of experts
who are interested in working together to prepare several joint papers in
time to meet the IPCC deadline, and who will organize informal groups to
meet with that end in mind, during the ESA meeting. We want to encourage
organic collaborations among the attendees.
If you are interested in the subject of global warming, biodiversity, and
ecosystem services, please join us! Looking forward to a great discussion.
Cheers, and thanks for reading!
Astrid Caldas
Union of Concerned Scientists
