Equinox Summit

The first European climate science summit

March 21 - 22, 2023

JPI Climate, with the support of the European Commission, will convene the first European climate science summit – the Equinox Summit. The main objectives of this flagship event are

1. To recognise and highlight European excellence and relevance in climate science & innovation, such as

European leadership in the IPCC 6^th Assessment Cycle
Current and emerging initiatives such as Copernicus, DestinE, ICOS, the EU Horizon Europe climate related Missions, flagship activities including EIT Climate KIC, relevant work of the Joint Research Center, the European Research Council and the contributions of initiatives such as the Global Carbon Project (GCP).
Ongoing research supports for transnational collaborative research in Horizon Europe and aligned research across the ERA via JPI Climate.

2. To consider a mechanism for Europe to accelerate the provision and transfer of excellence knowledge to addresses major aspects of the climate change challenge for our societies

Provide a forum for articulation of political support for the 2-year European scientific assessment/stocktaking process.
Ensure future European leadership in climate science and promote this as model for cooperation with other global regions.

About the summit

The urgency to address climate change has never been greater, increasing the demands for science and analysis to inform actions.

JPI Climate is responding to this urgency by acting to accelerate the transfer of knowledge from science to policy and practice. It aims to establish a process to systematic update scientific information for policy and actions; via a European scientific assessment and stocktaking process, operating on a two-year cycle and framed by the challenges of; climate neutrality, climate resilience and transition and transformation.

The Equinox Summit will highlight European climate science and research excellence. It will also address how such a scientific assessment and stocktaking process can provide support for implementation of climate policy and actions; in particular, how it will be responsive to specific knowledge needs and requirements, enhanced returns on research investments and inform the direction of future research.

Attendance is by invitation only. The summit is being organised in cooperation with (and support from) the European Commission. This is possible through the MAGICA project

Check out the programme for more information!

Date: 21-22 March 2023

Location: Belgian Climate Center, Avenue Circulaire, 3 – 1180 Bruxelles

Participation: by invitation

Draft Programme

Date: 21-22 March 2023

Location: Belgian Climate Center, Avenue Circulaire, 3 – 1180 Bruxelles

Participation: by invitation

Day One: 10:00 – 16:00 CET

Opening and introduction

Directors of the Belgian Climate Center and JPI Climate Chair

Intervention by

European Commission

“European Climate Science and Knowledge: excellence and global relevance” with

IPCC Co-Chairs of WGs

Supporting Transition and Transformation: actors including Club of Rome, Climate-KIC, European Investment Bank

“European climate research investments” with a roundtable on:

European Missions, European Observation Systems, Horizon Europe,

Joint Research Centre, European Research Council, European Research Area/Joint Programming

Day Two: 10:00 – 12:30 CET

High-level Session: Joint Opening by

Belgian State Secretary for Recovery, in charge of Science policy and

Belgian Minister for Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and the Green Deal

Messages of Day One by

JPI Climate Chair

Keynote by

European Commission

“Statements from European Research, Climate and Environment Ministries” followed by

Informal exchanges, presentation of a joint Declaration and announcement of next steps by Belgian hosts

Closure remarks moderated by

JPI Climate Chair

Responding to urgency for information and actions

European political and institutional, responses to climate change have developed significantly since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. These include the establishment of legal frameworks and operational structures for mitigation and adaptation actions. The European Climate Law establishes for the first-time binding climate targets for the EU. It provides a new framework for mainstreaming climate actions and sets up a dedicated European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. The European Green Deal and associated climate Missions and initiatives such as DestinE have also been launched.

Many European countries have adopted national climate legislation and have established climate advisory bodies. In addition, many sub-national and private sector actors have adopted or are considering ambitious climate goals and objectives.

However, Europe does not have an autonomous scientific assessment structure or a system to systematically take stock of how scientific information is used, or where gaps may exist that need to be addressed. The completion of the IPCC 6^th Assessment Cycle, which was uniquely productive and demanding, provides an opportunity to take stock of its work in the context of increasing demands for current scientific information and analysis. This is compounded by the rate of scale of information now being provided from a range of sources, which can be overwhelming.

It is therefore timely for Europe to establish a process that can build on and update key findings of the IPCC and advance analysis in areas of specific interest on a more frequent basis, i.e. two-yearly basis. This will ensure that the information for policy and actions is current and will in turn support the work of the IPCC during its next Assessment Cycle which will effectively start in 2024 and be completed around 2030.