REPORTING. At COP26, the focus is on scientists: “We must work directly with those who p – franceinfo

In the area of ​​the pavilions of the COP26, bringing together the stands of States or organizations, there is Indonesia, which tries to attract visitors with its cakes, the “business” pavilion, which highlights new buildings covered with plants, or Qatar, which praises the merits of its stadiums, however very energy-intensive, for the 2022 Football World Cup. And then there are the scientists. “We have nothing to sell. We are just here to share our field observations”, describes Heidi Sevestre. Sometimes seated on the ground, sometimes in the middle of a discussion on the permafrost, this glaciologist participates in all the events organized on the stand of the cryosphere, this frozen and fragile component of our planet. High panels detail, among other things, the irreversible risks of a melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps.

Two years ago, during the COP25 in Madrid, the stand dedicated to the cryosphere was the very first thematic science pavilion. Today, there are several. We find the “Science” pavilion, which brings together speakers from the IPCC, the World Meteorological Organization and the Met Office. A few meters away, we discover the one dedicated to water, with its giant screen and fountain. Further still, in an atmosphere cozy with its many seats, the pavilion dedicated to methane also welcomes visitors.

Over the course of these international climate conferences, the presence of scientists has increased. “I remember in Marrakech for the COP22, there was a day dedicated to water. I hosted a conference on the subject. It was only 90 minutes. Today, we have an entire pavilion, for twelve days”, says John Matthews, water biologist. Best of all, the space dedicated to them is central. “In Katowice (Poland) in 2018, the science pavilion was at the back of the hangar. We were very far from everything else, the people who came to visit us had to be really motivated. behind the flag of the British Presidency “, greet Valérie Masson-Delmotte, climatologist and co-president of the IPCC.

For its part, it will only be able to pass there in a gust of wind. In Glasgow, its agenda is very busy, between the conferences on the results of the latest report by climate experts and the question-and-answer sessions with national delegations. “We just had some very technical questions”, notes Valérie Masson-Delmotte at the end of a marathon of several hours on the regional consequences of climate change. In front of her, in a huge dark amphitheater, negotiators from Panama, India, the United States or Brazil wondered about the extreme events they will soon have to face. “You can see that there is more attention being paid to science.”

Bringing together scientists and decision-makers in the same place is, for all these researchers, essential in the fight against the climate crisis. “We have little opportunity to speak directly to politicians. But it is important, science is the foundation of the negotiations”, insists Heidi Sevestre, who has just discussed the losses of alpine glaciers with the Swiss president. “Science is essential in these conversations”, agrees Steven Hamburg, president of the scientific committee of the International Observatory of Methane Emissions.

His favorite subject has long been ignored by the international community. “It was difficult to make people understand that there are several greenhouse gases and that we cannot treat them in the same way. Very few NDCs [ces plans d’action des signataires de l’Accord de Paris] include commitments on methane, although it is a powerful greenhouse gas which has the advantage of having a short lifespan in the atmosphere “, he laments. It can now be satisfied with an agreement signed by a hundred countries during the COP26 for reduce methane emissions by 2030.

“A lot of people here are making announcements. You have to stick to the facts, make sure the measures are realistic. You can’t afford to waste energy in half-measures or in bad investments. doesn’t have time for that! “

Steven Hamburg, researcher and methane specialist

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But for biologist John Matthews, “listen to science” not enough. The exchange must go both ways. “I cannot know how to advise Nepal to maintain their hydropower, nor Egypt for their resilience program … Unless I sit down with them and try to understand their problems”, he insists. There is no question of waiting for the delegates to come to him: he took advantage of his two weeks in Glasgow to meet them and “to learn”. “We have to get out of our labs and work directly with the people who make tough decisions every day!”

This work has already largely begun, in particular in the construction of the IPCC reports, the scientific basis of the negotiations, recalls Valérie Masson-Delmotte. “When we prepare them, we listen to the needs expressed by the governments and, in the end, they participate in the proofreading”, explains the climatologist. This process has participated, according to her, in a rise “clean” the level of knowledge on these issues by decision-makers.

It now remains to support them in their societies’ adaptation measures to the growing consequences of global warming. “It is very focused on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions for the moment. There is certainly a very significant room for improvement in the contribution of academic knowledge to adaptation”, advances Valérie Masson-Delmotte. So after the decade of awareness comes the decade of implementation, and scientists want to be part of it. The COP wants to write it down in black and white: “The COP recognizes the importance of having the best possible science for effective climate action and for decision making”, can we read in the draft resolution (PDF) aired Wednesday November 10.