February 2009: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scoping meeting for a proposed Special Report on “Extreme events and disasters: managing the risks” will take place from 23-26 March 2009, in Oslo, Norway. The meeting will be hosted by the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority.

The proposal for a Special Report was prepared by Norway in collaboration with the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and introduced to the Panel at its 29th Session in September 2008. The Panel agreed to further develop the concept. At the 38th Session of the IPCC Bureau, which took place from 24-25 November 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland, a revised proposal was presented, and the Bureau agreed to hold a scoping meeting in early 2009.
The scoping meeting is expected to assess the feasibility and likely utility, as well as the structure and development schedule of a proposed report. It will result in a scoping paper describing the objectives and an annotated outline of the proposed report, as well as process and timeline for its preparation. The Panel will make a formal decision on undertaking the proposed Special Report at its 30th Session, which will be held from 21-23 April 2009, in Antalya, Turkey. [IPCC Calendar of Meetings] [IPCC Website]