New US Academic Alliance for IPCC Opens Critical Nomination Access

Article Content

A newly established network of U.S. academic institutions including UC San Diego has formed to provide coordinated support for American climate scientists.

The U.S. Academic Alliance for the IPCC (USAA-IPCC) has opened a call for U.S. researchers who are interested in being nominated to serve as experts, authors and review editors for the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7). Experts in climate research and practice who are U.S. citizens or based at U.S. institutions, and are interested in being nominated, are encouraged to submit applications to USAA-IPCC via the Alliance portal.

USAA-IPCC will accept submissions through April 4, 2025. A webinar will be hosted on March 27, 2025, 11 a.m. Pacific time, for prospective experts to learn more about the nomination process.

The founding members of USAA-IPCC are registered as observers with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Besides UC San Diego, the roster includes Colby College, College of the Atlantic, Dickinson College, Indiana University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Washington University in St. Louis, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Yale University. The American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists, hosts the alliance. USAA-IPCC aims to increase awareness of authorship calls and facilitate nomination opportunities for experts in climate research and practice working in the United States.

Margaret Leinen, director of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and member of the USAA-IPCC steering committee, said UC San Diego joined upon becoming aware that there wasn’t a way for American scientists to be nominated.

“This alliance is providing a very accessible way for U.S. scientists to indicate their interest in participating in the next assessment," said Leinen. "Our diverse group of universities, working with AGU, can reach much of the science community in climate science and policy.”

The U.S. has long been a leader in past climate assessments, supplying the largest number of experts of any country in the last assessment cycle. The USAA-IPCC nomination process is aimed to ensure that US scientists will have opportunities to be nominated to the upcoming assessment cycle.

“This new alliance will help the U.S. maintain a preeminent position in global science-policy assessments," said Pamela McElwee, professor of human ecology at Rutgers University and chair of the USAA-IPCC steering committee. "The benefits to U.S. researchers from involvement in the IPCC are tremendous, and we want to ensure that our scientists continue to play an important leadership role internationally.”

Since 1990, IPCC reports have assessed the latest developments in climate science, integrating physical science, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation. The effort forms the basis for global climate action and involves hundreds of volunteer scientists from around the world. Previous assessment cycles have produced definitive reports on the state of climate knowledge that have played an important role in influencing policy. The report authors assess thousands of papers in what is essentially the world’s largest peer review, designed to deliver essential information for decision makers. In 2007, IPCC participants were collectively awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work creating the body's Fourth Assessment Report along with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Experts may be nominated by multiple organizations, and eligible individuals are encouraged to submit nomination materials through the U.S. government process as well as the USAA-IPCC.

For more information, please visit the AGU portal.

Learn more about research and education at UC San Diego in: Climate Change