CDKN Asia conducted a well orchestrated series of events as part of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report’s Outreach events in Asia. The first in the series of events was held in Delhi on 06 August, 2014. The event was a high-profile packed event with new Ministers speaking for the first time since the election on climate science.

The event was organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in co-operation with the IPCC and Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and in partnership with the Ministry for Earth Sciences.

Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, who participated in the event to release the report, said extraordinary solutions were needed to address the extraordinary challenge of climate change.

Over 150 people also heard directly from three local IPCC authors on the detail of the report, and an entertaining ‘Hard Talk’ panel posed some tough questions to a cross section of stakeholders, including state governments, academics, NGOs and the private sector. As a warm up to this event a group of committed senior journalists many of which are previous CDKN/Panos Journalist Fellows grilled the IPCC and authors on what the report means for India; and over 200 University students showed their appreciation at a dedicated interaction with 4 of the authors.

The second outreach was held in Bangladesh and kicked off with a Press Conference held on 06 August, 2014 at the National Press Club of Bangladesh. The press conference was facilitated by Dr Munjurul Hannan Khan while Mr Jonathon Lynn from IPCC  gave a press briefing to the electronic and print media and Dr John Church, Co-ordinating Lead Author, IPCC answered questions related to Sea Level Rise and potential impacts on Asian regional coast lines in general and Bangladesh coast lines in particular.

The event was followed by the launching event held in Dhaka on 07 August, 2014 hosted by the Bangladesh Planning Commission and co-hosted by Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. The lunching event was organised by the IPCC, CDKN, LEAD and NACOM. The Planning Minister of Bangladesh Mr. AHM Mustafa Kamal, MP addressed the launching event as the Chief Guest while Secretary, MOEF Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman Patwari and Secretary, MODMR Dr. Mesbah ul Alam were present as the specials guests. The launching event was chaired by the Member, Planning Commission Prof. Dr. Shamsul Alam. The IPCC was represented by Mr. Jonathon Lynn and CDKN was represented by Mr. Ali T Sheikh and Dr. Munjurul Hannan Khan. Dr. John Church was keynote speaker for the event.

Around 160 participants attended the event from government, private sector, donor community and academics.

The IPCC AR5 Young Leaders event was hosted by the Dhaka University and organised by the IPCC, CDKN., Dr. AAMS Arefin Siddique, Vice Chancellor addressed the event as the Chief Guest while Dr. John Church was the  keynote speaker. Mr. Abdullah Al Mohosin Chowdhury, Ministry of Environment and Forests attended the event as special guest. Dr. AR Mollah, Chair, NACOM welcome the participants. CDKN was represented by Mr. Ali T Sheikh and Dr. Munjurul Hannan Khan. The event was chaired by Dr. Q. K. Ahmad, Chairperson , PKSF Bangladesh. The event was attended by young scientists, students, academics, professional etc. The event was generated huge interest among participants particularly on the scientific aspects of climate change.

The event in Pakistan started with a Journalist training conducted through PANOS and was held on the 08 August, 2014 at LEAD House.The training saw a large number of Journalists briefed and trained on the reportable and potentially headline making findings and messages within the IPCC AR5. The presence of Jonathan Lynn, Head of Communications of the IPCC presented an opportunity to journalists to understand first hand, the workings and procedures of the IPCC. Trainers from LEAD Pakistan illustrated ways in which a CDKN developed toolkit could be used in articulating Climate Change stories in a graphical and easy to understand format. Video of this training can be viewed here.

Assessment reports so far have highlighted a glaring fact of a rather different kind. Pakistani researchers’ work has not made its way to the top echelons of cited Climate Change literature. This reflects an urgent need to make sure that the academia and members of the research community are made aware of the processes and requirements attached to reaching such heights. In this context it was very pertinent that the theme for the Young Leader’s event at the National University of Sciences and Technology was on ‘Creating a Critical mass of Climate Change Researchers in Pakistan’.The event was attended by the IPCC authors Dr. Koko Warner, Dr. Joyashree Roy,  Dr. Mohsin Iqbal, Dr. Edvin Aldrian, Director and was chaired by Dr. Anwar Baig, Director IESE, National University of Sciences and Technology. Large number of professors, researchers and students participated in the event and an interactive session was held which provided a valuable lesson on the ground breaking research undertaken internationally.

The Public launch of the AR5 was held on 11 August, 2014 and ensured a diverse gathering of stakeholders from the government, private sector, CSOs and LEAD fellows. The objectives of the event was to sensitise and raise awareness of the findings of the AR5 among a cross section of the society.

The event was organised by LEAD Pakistan partnered with Planning Commission of Pakistan, the Climate Change Division of Pakistan, the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the National University of Science and technology in addition to the IPCC and CDKN.

Keynote address was delivered by Dr. Adil Najam, Dean of Pardee School of Global Studies followed by two sessions ‘Major findings of AR5 for Pakistan’ chaired by Dr. Akmal Hussain, Professor, Forman Christian College University and ‘HARD TALK: How Should Pakistan Respond to the IPCC’s Findings?’ chaired by Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Director Asia, CDKN & CEO, LEAD Pakistan.

The event was attended by Maj. Gen. Muhammad Saeed Aleem, Chairman NDMA, Dr. Ghulam Rasul, Chief Meteorologist, PMD, Dr. Amir Muhammed, Rector FAST-NU, Khawar Mumtaz, Chairperson, National Commission for the Status of Women, Ms. Shehnaz Wazir Ali, Former MNA, and several senior officials representing government, civil society, business community, and academia.

LEAD Pakistan is a member organisation of CANSA. Leadership for Environment And Development (LEAD) Pakistan is a non-profit organisation working since 1995 to create and sustain a global network of leaders who are committed to promote change towards the patterns of sustainable development that is economically sound, environmentally responsible and socially equitable in line with Agenda 21. More information can be found on their website on http://www.lead.org.pk/