Science-Policy Interfaces for Climate Change and Biodiversity: A Brief Overview - Info Sheet 1

UNEA resolution 5/8 (adopted in March 2022) decided that a science-policy panel to contribute further to the sound management of chemicals and waste and to prevent pollution (SPP-CWP) should be established. In so doing, UNEA essentially opted for “Option A: an independent platform” as laid out in the Assessment of options for strengthening the science-policy interface at the international level for the sound management of chemicals and waste (UNEP Chemicals 2020). This option is described as “most analogous” to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Since the IPCC and IPBES are common points of reference when discussing science-policy interfaces, this info sheet highlights their key design features. IPCC and IPBES each function as an interface between the scientific community, which generates knowledge, and the international treaties and national governments, which make and implement policies in their issue areas