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APCC Steering Committee & Working Group

The APCC Steering Committee (APCC SC) is a permanent institution of the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA) consisting of at least three positions:

  • 1 CCCA Board Member
  • 1 stakeholder (representative of public administration or similar)
  • 1 or more international scientist(s)

Currently the APCC SC consists of the following persons:

  •     Helmut Haberl (BOKU)
  •     Sabine Fuss (MCC-Berlin and Humboldt University Berlin)
  •     Gertraud Wollansky (BMK)

Former members:

  •     Martina Schuster (BMK) - until the end of 2020.

The APCC SC must meet the following requirements:

  • at least 1 person with Assessment Report (IPCC/APCC) experience should be represented
  • broad coverage of different research areas (natural and social sciences)
  • gender balance

There is an authorized representative from the Project Consortium (e.g. CO-Chair, Lead Author, Project Manager) for each ongoing Special Report or other APCC product who provides the APCC SC with information. The APCC SC can also consult further respondents.

The APCC SC itself does not create products but ensures the continuity and process quality of APCC products. This includes the evaluation of the review process regarding process quality as well as reviewers’ qualification and the extent to which the contents of the report are covered by respective reviewers.

The APCC SC monitors whether the respective topic is treated from an interdisciplinary perspective.

The APCC SC issues recommendations to the CCCA Board.

The APCC SC may suggest external reviewers and review editors for the review process. However, finding and organising review editors is the general responsibility of the respective project consortium.

Upon completion of an APCC product, the APCC SC confirms compliance with the quality criteria via a sign-off-letter.

The Working Group

  • was appointed by the CCCA Board and approved by the CCCA General Assembly in June 2015 in continuation of the APCC project;
  • is an open group, accessible to the entire scientific community;
  • receives proposals for future APCC products from the scientific community, discusses and probes topics of interest for future APCC products, and forwards prospective topic proposals for the forthcoming years to the CCCA Board;
  • assesses proposals from the scientific community according to the criteria of feasibility, public interest in the topic, appropriate definition, and range of the topic and submits them to the CCCA Board for approval;
  • nominates members for the APCC Steering Committee (APCC SC) and submits the nominations to the CCCA Board;
  • is reportable to the CCCA Board;
  • ensures the active involvement of the CCCA members and community in preparing Assessment Reports (e.g. by addressing them via the various CCCA communication channels, supervised by the CCCA GS)
  • discusses the (thematic) definition of APCC products and develops according suggestions.

Identifying topics for Special Reports

The scientific community can submit thematic proposals for Special Reports to the APCC WG. They are collected and discussed. The WG selects potential topics and proposes them to the CCCA Board, who can likewise make recommendations. Invitations to the APCC WG meetings in general, and to meetings where specific topics are explored in particular, are always issued via the following CCCA communication channels:

  • email to all members of the APCC WG
  • email to the member representatives of the CCCA
  • information on the website of APCC WG
  • entry in the CCCA website’s calendar
  • in addition, proponents of a topic are invited to present their proposal in WG meetings.

A roadmap providing a medium-term outlook on potential future Special Reports should be developed in subsequent stakeholder workshops (with financial partners, practice partners from politics, business and other fields of action).

A Special Report must fulfil the following criteria:

  • The topic must have a sufficient range.
  • The scientific community is large enough to comprehensively cover the topic.
  • Utilisable studies, literature, etc. are available in sufficient quantity and quality.
  • The community is prepared and willing to develop an APCC product.
  • Funding by stakeholders/financiers is possible.

 

Contact

Please contact info@ccca.ac.at if you are planning to submit to the ACRP call on an APCC report and for any other questions about the APCC SC & Working Group, submissions, products or guidelines.