Sessions of special interest for Policy 

The Arctic is warming between 4-8 times faster than the global average, making permafrost soil organic carbon susceptible to degradation. The quantity and timeline of methane emissions from this carbon entering the atmosphere is uncertain. Yet, the permafrost environment is changing rapidly, permafrost thaw is leading to increasingly significant changes in landscape and biodiversity. To predict the impacts of permafrost thaw on the landscape and methane emissions, international collaboration is necessitated. To this end, ESA and NASA have established the Arctic Methane Permafrost Challenge, a transatlantic initiative bringing together circumpolar studies across scales.

The aim of this session is to further enhance the understanding of all aspects of change in the permafrost environment leading to methane emissions across all scales in the circumpolar Arctic. This symposium will invite leading figures in the field in order to understand the current state of research, and how to further understanding. The session will focus on science synergies across biodiversity and landscape studies, carbon cycling, and integrated observing technologies across international partners to build on and enhance existing Arctic science.

In 2023, the European Commission published the Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act. This regulation established benchmarks for the supply of CRMs within the European Union:

• At least 10% of the EU's annual consumption for extraction,
• At least 40% of the EU's annual consumption for processing,
• At least 15% of the EU's annual consumption for recycling,
• Not more than 65% of the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw material at any relevant stage of processing from a single third country.

Achieving these targets will require (i) Creating secure and resilient EU critical raw materials supply chains; (ii) Ensuring that the EU can mitigate supply risks, (iii) Investing in research, innovation and skills and (iv) Protecting the environment by improving circularity and sustainability of critical raw materials, (v) strengthening international partnerships.

Under the Act, EU countries will be required to identify and quantify their mineral resources, including virgin materials and potential waste streams. European geoscientists across all areas of research and resource assessment will need to develop new, more efficient, tools, data and data products to support the Act. These will also need to be widely shared and implemented to deliver European-wide resource estimates. Critically, this work will require collaboration with economists, environmental scientists, policymakers and social and behavioural scientists.

This Union Symposium aims to identify the role of geoscientists in delivering the CRM Act for Europe. Discussion will focus on how we can build on previous research, infrastructure and data, and aims to identify new opportunities under collaborative programmes such as Horizon Europe.
Expert Panellists include:
o Mr Gabriel Nievoll, DG Grow, European Commission
o Dr Christoph Poinssot, Deputy CEO Geological Survey of France (BRGM) & EuroGeoSurveys
o Priv. Doz. Dr. Simona Regenspurg, GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potzdam
o Dr Karen Hanghoj, Director British Geological Survey

Numerous geoscientists are producing and disseminating knowledge about climate change and contemporary environmental degradation to increasingly wider audiences, from civil society to policymakers. This knowledge is notably gathered in alarming reports by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and it indicates that rapid and radical transformations of our societies are simply vital.

Still, ongoing efforts to trigger such transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society stakeholders, often fall short of the urgent actions recommended. It has increasingly been suggested that putting most efforts into ever-improving knowledge and communication is a strategy that can only address part of the obvious gap between Science and the required societal change (see review articles by Stoddard et al., 2021 and Oreskes, 2022).

In light on this, and given the emergencies clearly informed by scientific consensus, we contend that the adequate question for a great debate is not whether scientists should engage more into facing the crisis, but how they should do it. Specifically, which forms of engagement are suitable for scientists if they acknowledge that a) science must be effective at the policy level and b) that informing is simply not enough? Should they enter the political arena (as citizens or as scientists)? With which type of collectives, communities, and with which strategy? Should they prioritize legitimacy or legality? Answering these questions requires assessing and discussing both the benefits (i.e., effects in terms of radical transformation of the society, for example with disinvestment from Universities and banks from the fossil fuel industry), and costs (i.e., potential backlash against scientist credibility or against the autonomy -financial or political- of scientific institutions) of scientific engagement in our era.

Bibliography:
Oreskes, N.: The trouble with the supply-side model of science, Proc.Indian Natl. Sci. Acad., 88, 824–828, https://doi.org/10.1007/s43538-022-00121-1, 2022.
Stoddard, I., et al.: Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven’t We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 46, 653–689, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-011104, 2021.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and artificial intelligence are contemporary challenges that demand evidence-based policy decisions; it is therefore critical that researchers actively engage in providing insights and expertise to support decision-making. Engaging with the media and civil society can play an important role in building public trust and understanding of scientific research, and helping citizens understand policy measures and make informed decisions. However, there are several challenges researchers, especially early-career researchers (ECRs), face when interested in engaging with stakeholders and the policy-making process. These include institutional, social, cultural and personal barriers such as lack of mentoring and trust from senior researchers, lack of professional recognition/reward, lack of access to policy-makers, professional instability, or lack of confidence and training.
In this debate we will explore how to enable the sustainable engagement of ECRs with the policy landscape. What role can ECRs play in bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and policy implementation? How can early career researchers navigate the intricate mechanisms of stakeholder engagement? What significant challenges and barriers do they face and how can these be overcome?
In an open dialogue with the audience, our panellists will discuss strategies and mechanisms for collaboration between young researchers and policy-makers, and identify pathways to develop an effective dialogue that would help lead to evidence-informed actions and decisions. We will explore the role of funding agencies, scientific academies and organizations, senior researchers, early-career networks and the media. How can these different actors adapt to support ECRs in engaging with society? What collaborative efforts can be fostered to empower the next generation of scientific leaders?
The panel will be moderated by a science journalist and include members from funding agencies, scientific academies and organizations, senior researchers, and early-career networks. This session is a joint initiative of the EU-funded research projects OptimESM and ESM2025, which aim to develop the new generation of Earth system models and further our understanding on the evolution of the Earth system.

As themes of climate change, environment, nature, and hazards dominate global headlines, the need for sound, timely, and digestible scientific advice in public policymaking is on the rise. Many Unions and Societies representing breadth of the geoscience community are working to put geoscience at the heart of emergent and evolving policy topics by operating some kind of science-policy function. By working to promote evidence-informed solutions to global societal challenges, these units aim to integrate science into global policy, and represent the geoscience community in global policy considerations, but are they delivering?

This debate will explore the challenges and successes geoscience unions and societies worldwide have experience by engaging in various ways with the science policy process. It will explore whether such representative organisations are fulfilling the expectations of the communities they represent, and ask how they could expand and evolve the science policy service that they provide.

For the first time in Earth’s history, one species has developed such power to shape the planet that a new geological age has been identified and named in its honour: that age is The Anthropocene, and the species is us. Our power and influence are now so great that our actions are the primary factors impacting the planet’s landscapes, climate, environment, ecology, and ultimately its future habitability for us, and all other living species.
Whilst humanity’s impact on global climate systems is widely recognised, recent years have produced numerous extreme weather events, including unprecedented heat on land and in the oceans, and record-breaking wildfires: a devastating reality that not long ago seemed a distant future. A worrying indication that, although overall planetary heating is roughly in line with predictions, increases in extreme weather events are occurring faster and with a greater severity than projected, possibly indicating that climatic tipping points have already been breached.

Perhaps lower in widespread public awareness, but equally critical, is that we are in the midst of what is being referred to as “Earth’s Sixth Great Extinction”. With the loss of species running at between 1,000 and 10,000 times natural rates, our actions threaten the intricate web of life that has made our planet so favourable for supporting a rich diversity of life, including ourselves.

Against the backdrop of these unprecedented events and their impacts, there are worrying signs of a green backlash, with individuals, political groups, and industry protesting the steps that are being taken to transition us toward a net zero and resilient future.

In this session, we will explore the critical role of communicating our scientific results to make sure society will effectively mitigate these threats. We will debate the vital role of scientists in addressing this societal greenlash, as well as the increase in greenwashing, and our role in shaping solutions to avoid a catastrophic mass extinction event. Furthermore, we will discuss the tools and pathways needed to ensure that we are able to take everyone with us on our way to a greener and more resilient future.

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

In this short course, we will teach researchers the basics of making accurate and well-calibrated predictions, then get them to apply their skills to a range of problems in emissions scenarios, climate science and climate impacts.

Climate science is valuable because of its power to predict the future and guide it positively, but very little time goes into assessing how well we do and how we can do better with the human predictions we still rely on. For many problems encountered, there are no explicit models for how things will proceed, and we therefore rely on “expert judgement”. However, prediction comparisons find that in some domains, experts are worse than the less-informed public.

We will teach people how to express their beliefs systematically and explain some tools and platforms that facilitate doing this. Finally we’ll elicit predictions to inform climate modellers of high-risk missing data, inform IAM makers of realistic scenarios and inform policymakers of the realistic levels of climate change they will need to adapt to.

Early career researchers, late career researchers and all with an interest in learning how to make better predictions are welcome.

After the PhD, a new challenge begins: finding a position where you can continue your research or a
job outside academia where you can apply your advanced skills. This task is not
always easy, and frequently a general overview of the available positions is missing. Furthermore,
in some divisions, up to 70% of PhD graduates will go into work outside of academia. There are many
different careers which require or benefit from a research background. But often, students and
early career scientists struggle to make the transition due to reduced support and networking.
In this panel discussion, scientists with a range of backgrounds give their advice on where to find
jobs, how to transition between academia and industry and what are the pros and cons of a career
inside and outside of academia.
In the final section of the short course, a Q+A will provide the audience with a chance to ask
their questions to the panel. This panel discussion is aimed at early career scientists but anyone
with an interest in a change of career will find it useful. An extension of this short course will
run in the networking and early career scientist lounge, for further in-depth or
one-on-one questions with panel members.

How to learn and get the key info when listening to the report of a colleague who works on
something completely different from you but on the same project? How to deliver your report so
that everyone understands you? How to find common ground for joint research which will impact
both the project and your career?
Trans-disciplinarity and cross-fertilisation are key aspects of many research projects, especially
when dealing with natural hazards. To study the natural phenomenon and evaluating hazard and
risk related to them, in fact, there is the need of many different and technical expertise. Many
European founded projects award a collaboration between hard and social science. Approaching
such complex and multifaceted topics, especially in the first phase of one’s career can be very
challenging. This short course is created by and dedicated to Early Career Scientists. The main aim
is to deliver simple but effective tools to use when working on a trans-disciplinary, cross-cultural
project.

Contributing to the policymaking process is a great way to engage with those outside of academia and to ensure your research has an impact! During this session, a panel of experts will build on the concepts outlined in the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course by providing participants with an overview of the competences and skills that can help ensure that your policy engagement is meaningful and has an impact!

In the first half of the session, participants will be introduced to the Science for Policy Competence Framework Smart4Policy self-assessment tool created by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The panelists will then provide an outline of the European policy landscape and some of the specific mechanisms that scientists can use to engage with it.

While it is recommended that participants attend the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course before this session, it isn’t necessary.

Reducing disaster risk is critical to securing the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and natural hazard scientists are key to achieving this aim. This short course provides practical tips and strategies to support the natural hazards community to strengthen their engagement in disaster risk reduction efforts. The content of this course is based on a paper published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-187-2021) and a self-led online training course supported by the EGU Training School Fund.

Who should join this course? The course is particularly designed for students, early-career scientists, and experienced natural hazard scientists who are keen to enhance the contribution of their work to the planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities. While we look at the (geo)science-policy-practice interface through the example of disaster risk reduction, many of the themes we cover are relevant to those using geoscience to address other societal challenges. For example, themes relating to partnerships, cultural understanding, and equitable access to information.

The course structure includes:

(1) Welcome, introductions, brief tour of our NHESS perspective piece on building sustainable and resilient communities: recommended actions for natural hazard scientists (15 min)
(2) Interactive Session - Three Tasks, Central-Asia Case Study (exploring tools and concepts in the NHESS perspective piece (45 min)
(3) Short overview of the open-access online training module (15 min)
(4) Q&A (10 min)
(5) Final break out group discussions (15 min)
(6) Wrap up and thanks (5 min)

Networking is crucial for scientists of all career stages for collaborations as well as for their personal growth and career pathways. Your scientific network can offer valuable support in navigating the challenges of academic life, aiding in career decisions, and providing constructive input on job applications, proposals, and research papers. Not only that but also, a scientific network can offer fresh insights, open doors to interdisciplinary partnerships, and spark innovative projects.

Establishing an initial network can prove daunting, particularly when extending beyond the boundaries of your research institution. As scientific conferences and social media platforms are evolving, the possibilities of academic networking are also changing. In this short course, we will share tips and tricks on how to establish, grow and maintain your scientific network. Additionally, panellists will talk about their own personal experiences. In the latter part of this course, we will engage in a networking exercise to put theory into practice. This short course is relevant to scientists who are starting to build/grow their network or want to learn more about networking in today’s scientific settings.

For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm regarding the climate and ecological crisis. Each successive report has delivered alarming findings, yet regrettably, these warnings have been met with insufficient responses and political inertia. Consequently, the disastrous effects of human activity on land, water, and atmosphere persist, surpassing the Earth's system boundaries and posing significant threats to both nature and humanity [1,2]. Concurrently, an impassioned climate movement has emerged, led primarily by young activists demanding immediate climate action [3]. As the consequences of the climate crisis become increasingly evident, also scientists and academics are contemplating the most effective roles they can assume within our next to this movement [4,5,6].
This course explores the role of social movements in driving change. We'll discuss how scientists and academic institutions can contribute to urgent climate action. We highly encourage participants to share examples of how scientists can collaborate with their institutions to incorporate advocacy and activism into the academic narrative. Our goal is to inspire participants to think about their roles and provide stepping stones to take meaningful action. The course unfolds in three distinct parts.
1. Interdisciplinary insights: Invited experts will shed light on social movements and universities' roles in historical changes.
2. Scientists in action: Discussion on the pivotal roles scientists and institutions can play in climate justice today, using case studies by facilitators and participants.
3. Brainstorming ways forward: Through interactive discussions and group activities, we'll explore action avenues, from transformative changes in the university to joining non-violent civil disobedience actions.
This short course transcends traditional academic boundaries and seeks to nurture enthusiasm for collective academic action, empowering scientists to step out of their comfort zones and into a world in environmental emergency mode. The course is organized by scientists who are also members of Scientist Rebellion, which advocates for a paradigm shift in the role of scientists—from passive observers to proactive activists pressing for the urgent and necessary actions.
[1] IPCC AR6 SYR 2023 [2] Rockström et al. 2023 Nature [3] Shuman et al. 2021 JPSP [4] Artico et al. 2023 Front Sustain [5] Capstick et al. 2022 Nat. Clim. Chang. [6] Gardner et al. 2021 Front Sustain

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

Science communication includes the efforts of natural, physical and social scientists, communications professionals, and teams that communicate the process and values of science and scientific findings to non-specialist audiences outside of formal educational settings. The goals of science communication can include enhanced dialogue, understanding, awareness, enthusiasm, improving decision making, or influencing behaviors. Channels can include in-person interaction, online, social media, mass media, or other methods. This session invites presentations by individuals and teams on science communication practice, research, and reflection, addressing questions like:

What kind of communication efforts are you engaging in and how you are doing it?
How is social science informing understandings of audiences, strategies, or effects?
What are lessons learned from long-term communication efforts?

This session invites you to share your work and join a community of practice to inform and advance the effective communication of earth and space science.

The effectiveness of disaster risk mitigation actions depends not only on the implementation of specific measures such as safety protocols, but also on how well at-risk communities accept, react and contribute to, or care about them. Involving the at-risk community in the studies of hazards and risks can result in an increased awareness and enhanced knowledge on appropriate mitigation and preparedness options. In this sense, risk communication and citizen science are becoming increasingly significant. Scientists and experts play a key role in establishing confidence in the public opinion and in improving the communication efforts of institutions in charge of the public communication. While the risk communication field offers many best practices that can be adapted by and reproduced in different communities, it also faces many challenges, including reaching the right audiences and conveying the right messages .

This session is dedicated to scientists, science communicators and practitioners with a particular focus on Early Career Scientists. The aim of the session is to create a space for discussion of best practices and theoretical approaches when practicing risk communication or citizen science. We welcome submissions exploring different approaches for producing and sharing risk information related to natural and/or anthropogenic hazards considering key factors affecting risk communication (e.g., stakeholder engagement, cultural awareness and sensitivity, the temporality of risk communication, and uncertainties). Of special interest are contributions addressing the dynamics of risk communication from hazard preparation and response to crisis recovery. Moreover, we encourage contributions on how to evaluate the impacts of such efforts and how to include science communication in a scientist’s daily activities.

Scientific knowledge is crucial for shaping policies related to climate, environment, sustainability, and resources. To have an impact on politics, research needs to communicate in a way that addresses needs and offers solutions. However, it is important to identify the most effective science policy formats that can contribute to enriching political debates. While there are now many resources available to scientists who would like to engage in the policymaking process, finding specific information or practical examples that relate to a specific discipline or field of research can be challenging.

This session aims to bridge that gap by highlighting success stories from scientists who have engaged in policy and made critical societal impacts – either on a European, national, or local level – across different scientific disciplines and science officers who have facilitated successful science-policy-dialogues. It will also aim to examine the various challenges that researchers face when engaging on the science-policy interface and various strategies that others have taken to manage and overcome them.

This session is relevant for scientists and science officers from all career levels and science disciplines and will provide space for follow-up questions and a discussion with the participants at the session and at a splinter meeting on EGU Monday.

Geoscientists are actively engaged in advancing knowledge pertaining to current climate change and environmental crisis, and disseminating it to a broad audience, from the general public to policymakers and stakeholders.

To date, efforts to trigger radical transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society actors, have overwhelmingly fallen short of the urgent actions recommended by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Some scholars argue that the underlying issue lies not primarily in the absence of information (Oreskes, The trouble with the supply-side model of science, 2022), but rather in the power dynamics among various stakeholders and that recognizing this is fundamental (Stoddard et al., Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven’t We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?, 2013).
This session targets the diverse roles that geoscientists can play in accelerating the radical transformation of our society to address the current ecological crisis.

Key questions include: How to engage with civil society, stakeholders and policymakers to ensure the implementation of research findings into appropriate policies? How to assess and reduce the ecological footprint of scientific institution, as to show exemplary pathways to the rest of society? How to expand outreach and training efforts, and towards who, the general public or specific stakeholders such as elected representatives, civil servants, economic actors, or even fellow academics? How to contribute and assist legal actions against private or public entities? Should scientists engage in disruptive actions and civil disobedience to transform their own institutions and press on problematic actors, such as the fossil fuel industry?
 
We invite contributions that address these questions, whether from a theoretical perspective or through firsthand experiences. We are particularly interested in examples of research projects or collaborations that have attempted to assess their impact on any of the strategies given above (e.g., ecological footprints, policies, litigation, communication, or pressing on relevant stakeholders). Interdisciplinary work, spanning fields like philosophy, history, sociology, and their application to science or broader societal aspects, is highly encouraged.

Contributing to the policymaking process is a great way to engage with those outside of academia and to ensure your research has an impact! During this session, a panel of experts will build on the concepts outlined in the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course by providing participants with an overview of the competences and skills that can help ensure that your policy engagement is meaningful and has an impact!

In the first half of the session, participants will be introduced to the Science for Policy Competence Framework Smart4Policy self-assessment tool created by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The panelists will then provide an outline of the European policy landscape and some of the specific mechanisms that scientists can use to engage with it.

While it is recommended that participants attend the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course before this session, it isn’t necessary.

"The challenges of producing information for society based on climate science include everything from data access to the treatment of uncertainty and expert judgment over what constitutes robust, decision-ready information. WCRP programs tasked with supporting the production and use of climate data are interested in understanding the range of practices employed by the EGU community over this entire chain. We expect that there exist barriers relating to technical challenges, (lack of) process understanding, communicating with decision-makers about how to make sense of divergent data products, and resource limitations on all of the above.

In the first portion of the townhall we will focus on data access -- where do you start to produce actionable information? Representatives from CMIP and CORDEX will present some background and then facilitate discussions about data access methods currently employed, and your suggestions for improvement. We are also interested in what other products form the starting point for some users, as well as what motivates you to run your own simulations with stakeholders in mind.

In the second portion of the townhall we will shift to facilitated small-group discussions on the challenges of producing information for society that is both robust and useful for decision-making. The WCRP Regional Information for Society (RIfS) project wants to hear from EGU members on everything from the analysis and post-processing tools you employ, to how you handle issues in the data, represent uncertainty, and work to provide information to decision-makers. We will briefly present some of the issues and then move into facilitated discussion. We are especially interested in if/how you approach co-production, whether it is for generalized climate services or bespoke projects in a particular region and sector that combine with other non-climate data. How do you communicate with stakeholders who are confused by the sometimes-divergent array of data products and services available?

Information gathered in the townhall will be summarized in a technical report by CMIP, CORDEX, and RIfS and shared with participants, as well as informing ongoing work across our projects to improve data access and build consensus on the production of robust information for regional decision-making."

Accurate and precise, long-term measurements of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations continue to show the rapid and unceasing rise of global GHG concentrations due to human activity. The resulting increases in global temperatures, sea-level, glacial retreat, and other negative impacts are clear. In response to this evidence, nations, states, and cities, industries and individuals have been accelerating GHG emission reduction and other mitigation efforts while working towards equitable development and environmental justice. The urgency, complexity, and economic implications of the needed GHG emission reductions and other climate action demand strategic investment in science-based information for planning, implementing, and tracking emission reduction policies and actions.

In response, a growing number of national and international greenhouse gas measurement and monitoring strategies and initiatives have been launched with the goals of providing actionable information to guide and track climate change mitigation policy measures across scales and sectors. In recognition of the value of cooperation, coordination, and collaboration across these efforts and implementing entities, the World Meteorological Organization (https://ig3is.wmo.int/en/welcome and https://shorturl.at/dopuI) and the U.S. GHG Center (https://earth.gov/ghgcenter) invite all interested EGU attendees to a Town Hall discussion of the opportunities and challenges for such partnerships.

The Town Hall will begin with brief introductions from representatives of several national and international initiatives such as the U.S. GHG Center, the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS), the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W), the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO), the Integrated Carbon Observing System (ICOS), and others. Following these brief introductory statements, attendees will participate in a facilitated discussion around questions such as:

• How can these initiatives improve their connectivity and partnership with user communities across sectors and jurisdictions for the co-design of tools and information products?
• What are the gaps in capabilities that should be addressed by these organizations?
• How might the objectives of these measurement and monitoring efforts be augmented or changed?
• What are the largest opportunities for synergy/collaboration amongst the initiatives convened at this townhall?

Several long-term forest monitoring initiatives have been established in Europe over the last decades, which have generated a tremendous amount of data and support scientific evidence. They have also been important in addressing past policy challenges (acid rain and the “Waldsterben” in the 80s and 90s) and they will be crucial to achieving current policy targets (e.g., pollution abatement, climate change mitigation, forest restoration, biodiversity conservation, sustainable city). Building synergies among the different initiatives we currently in Europe is one of the goals promoted by the CLEANFOREST COST Action. This is a needed step forward from the scientific communities involved, in order to be able to gain a more holistic view of forest responses to global change drivers, as well as support other relevant end-users of data produced, such as remote sensing and modeler communities. Finally, a coordination of different forest monitoring networks is becoming crucial to fully support the implementation of the forthcoming Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a monitoring framework for resilient European forests proposed by the European Commission. This Townhall would be a great opportunity to discuss challenges preventing coordination among different networks as well as possible actions that can be undertaken to overcome them. We welcome to the discussion researchers at any stage of their careers involved in monitoring initiatives as well as those actively involved in bridging science and policy to support the achievement of policy targets within the Green Deal.

One of the easiest ways that scientists can start engaging with policymaking is through the established, institutionalised mechanisms hosted by the European Commission that aim to collect expert input and feedback on their legislative proposals. This Short Course will provide participants with all the information that they need to start engaging with these formal engagement processes. The convening team and invited experts will provide an overview of a range of Commission-driven mechanisms including the EU Transparency Register, EU Consultations, and EU Expert Groups.

Make sure you bring your laptop so that you can join the walkthrough of the European Commission website and access these mechanisms.

As the amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options increases, so too does the need for scientific evidence and those who are able to communicate it accurately and concisely. This role, between science and policy, is becoming increasingly recognised as a necessary profession with the number of knowledge brokers and those working on the interface expanding.

But what does a career in between science and policy look like? What types of positions exist and what skills do professionals who work on the science-policy interface need? Join us in this session to meet those working across the science-policy spectrum, learn about how they developed the necessary skills, and find out what their tips are for those who want to take the next step in their own career!

The European Union’s proposed Nature Restoration Law aims to provide essential guidance and support to restore ecosystems, habitats, and species across the EU’s land and sea areas. Expertise from researchers has played a vital role in creating and supporting this legislation that not only aims to restore degraded ecosystems but also improve soil health and water management, support the mitigation of climate change, and increase Europe’s resilience to droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events.

During this interactive session, experts involved in the creation of the EU Nature Restoration Law will share insights on the legislation process, the decisions that were taken, how scientific information was used to support the process, and what the next steps will be. Members of the EGU Biodiversity Task Force will also share their experiences engaging with this policy and the lessons that they learned along the way.

This session will not only provide participants with information on the Nature Restoration Law but also on how scientists can engage with the European Parliament in other legislative areas.

Understanding the aspects of your research and expertise that are relevant and of interest to policymakers is a key component of engaging in the policymaking process. This session will give you the opportunity to present the key aspects of your research to a panel of policymakers and those working on the science-policy interface! The panel will then give their feedback and provide insights on areas that you can improve on when discussing your research with policymakers in the future. This will not only allow you to develop your science-policy presentation and communication skills but also highlight areas that you can consider including to ensure that your research resonates with the policy community moving forward! The panel will also provide feedback on the policy areas in which they believe your research could be relevant, including current and upcoming policies.

The panel will assess up to eight scientists during this session. Timeslots will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can submit your topic for consideration here: https://www.egu.eu/forms/Pitching4Policy/

This interactive Short Course will provide practical examples from EGU’s Policy Programme - including the Science-Policy Pairing Scheme, Science for Policy Working Group, and Biodiversity Task Force - and explain how these initiatives can be replicated.

During the first half of this session, leaders from these initiatives will be invited to present their experiences and give practical insights from the lessons that they learned. Session participants will then be invited to share their own experiences and brainstorm potential methods of creating science-policy spaces and dialogues within their own scientific organisations and research institutes.

Please bring questions and some of the challenges that you or your organisation is experiencing so that these can be discussed!

Policy briefs are concise, accessible documents that aim to communicate the practical implications of research to a particular policy audience and provide them with solutions to a specific issue. Although policy briefs are just one method to communicate information to a policy audience, they can be a valuable communication tool when effectively written and disseminated.

This Splinter Meeting will be run in the form of an interactive workshop. Participants will be provided with tips and tools to create their own policy brief as well as interactive exercises to work on with other attendees and the session’s leaders.

Participants are requested to bring along one of their (single-authored or collaborative) publications to use during the workshop. If attendees do not yet have any publications, they may bring along an article authored by someone else that they are familiar with.

Welcome to our splinter meeting on the science-policy-interface! We would love to exchange ideas, network, share experiences and insights with scientists, science managers, science communicators, and policymakers alike. Whether you're deeply involved in policy discussions or eager to learn more about how science informs policy-making, you are warmly welcome to join us for snacks and drinks!

We also invite you to continue the dialogue at our session on Thursday, "EOS4.1 Science Policy Interface: Shaping Debates" (https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU24/session/49288). This session will identify the most effective formats for science-policy engagement and highlighting success stories and lessons learned from scientists and communicators who have engaged in policy and made critical societal impacts – either on a European, national, or local level.

The EGU’s policy programme hosts several initiatives and activities that help researchers to engage more with European policymaking processes… but some EGU Divisions also have representatives that can help you to connect and engage!

Want to learn more about what EGU Policy Officers and Representatives do? Want to share your ideas and experiences? Or just join in on the discussion and meet others within your division who are interested in Science for Policy? Then join this Splinter Meeting meet and greet!

"The time for climate action is now. Science is critical in shaping the policies and actions to tackle the global climate change challenge,” said former IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. Scientist Rebellion is an international movement of scientists and scholars who are extremely concerned about the climate and ecological crisis and believe the scientific community has the responsibility to step up and join the forefront of the environmental movement.
Unless those who are best placed to understand this crisis behave according to the emergency we live in, we cannot expect the public to do the same. The latest IPCC report notes “Any further delay in concerted action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”
We believe that we must expose the reality and severity of the climate and ecological emergency through nonviolent direct actions, including civil disobedience. In this Splinter meeting we would like to share how we work and what we do. If you want to have a chat with some of us to see if this is a network you would like to join, feel free to stop by at this informative splinter meeting organized by EGU participants who are also member of Scientist Rebellion.

The process of transforming research outputs into policy and practice outcomes is described using various terms influenced by factors such as geography, time, domain, trends, and personal preferences. Research translation, knowledge translation, research utilization, knowledge transfer, and knowledge-to-action, among others, are some of these keywords. Regardless of the word choice, there is a growing global interest in this paradigm across diverse disciplines. The reason for this is the widespread acknowledgment that the conventional steps of knowledge creation (primary research), knowledge distillation (systematic reviews and guidelines), and knowledge dissemination (journal publications and presentations) fall short in ensuring that users beyond academia in industry, government and community can effectively leverage scientific knowledge for demonstrable real-world changes. This is especially important now as the world races to achieve just and timely decarbonisation and sustainabl e development.

Whilst knowledge translation practices focus primarily on the gap between research outputs and outcomes, gaps between evidence and decision-making exist at every stage of the research and development pipeline, spanning research infrastructure to long-term positive impacts for societies, environments and economies. In this meeting, we will share knowledge translation initiatives undertaken within research infrastructures AuScope (in the Australian context) and EPOS (in the European context), who support diverse users in academia, industry, government and community across those continents, respectively. We invite you, as a member of the global research and user community, to join us in exploring gaps in research innovation ecosystems around the world, and creative ways that we can work together to overcome them.

As highlighted by the UN development goals, climate change is a reality to which we need to adapt. However, the many disciplines required to effectively plan and adapt to climate change often work in isolation. For example, physical climate modelling, hydrology, and hazard impact and risk assessment are largely separate disciplines with difficulties interacting due to different terminologies and backgrounds. Moreover, until recently, climate modellers did not have the capability to generate long-term projections at a spatial and temporal resolution useful for impact studies.

With the advent of kilometre-scale atmospheric models, called convection-permitting models CPMs, high resolution remote sensed data sets, and global sub-daily rainfall observations, we are now in a position to bridge the gap between disciplines, sharing knowledge and understanding. With all these tools at our disposal we have substantially improved the representation of sub-daily precipitation characteristics and have model output at a spatial resolution closer to what many impacts modellers, for example hydrologists, need. Now is the time to exploit these high-resolution, consistent datasets as input for impact studies and adaptation strategies; to foster interdisciplinary collaboration to build a common language and understand limitations and needs of the different fields; to learn together how to provide policymakers with information that can be used to design effective measures at to adapt to climate change as well as to inform mitigation decisions.

This interdisciplinary session invites contributions that address the linkages between high-resolution climate scientists, impact modellers, and end users with a special focus on:
- Recent advances in climate modelling for impact studies, particularly using high resolution convection- permitting models.
- Bias correction techniques to overcome bias in climate models affecting impact models.
- Analysis of the uncertainty propagation from climate into impact models.
- Improved understanding of processes that will alter hazards resulting from climate change.
- Novel use of new and existing observational data sets in characterising and quantifying climate change hazards.
- Examples of good practice, storylines and communication to both stakeholders and policymakers.

Water scarcity, food security, energy transition and environmental protection issues represent challenges of paramount importance. Climatic and demographic change stressors determine further uncertainties. Governors are called to take important decisions to support fair allocation of resources, mitigate conflicts and sustain social cohesion while managing socio-economic pressures and foster climate change adaptation across diverse scales. Science studies validated methods and data for investigating and quantifying the interlinkages of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus components. Nevertheless, WEFE Nexus knowledge and technology transfer is still falling behind.

Stakeholders engagement, ethics and gender dimension represent key topics while mainstreaming WEFE Nexus approaches. Citizens and stakeholders are not adequately informed and involved perceiving to receive Nexus-driven technological and policy advancements as a top-down enforcement, like a burden, rather than understanding their multiple benefits towards a safer and healthier water-energy-food production.

Science-driven WEFE Nexus models, are also approaching a mature stage, but, the knowledge and technological transfer of WEFE Nexus science is facing severe technical and non-technical barriers. Several WEFE Nexus scientific and innovation programs showed that technological innovation shall work in synergy with a behavioural and mindset change while considering social, cultural and historical dimension. To work towards overcoming this gap, this session explores how the capabilities of these technologies can lead to more effective resource allocation, improved sustainability practices, and conflict resolution between competing demands.

This session promotes contributions working on WEFE Nexus approaches with particular focus on research, innovation and case studies working across multiple scales. Transdisciplinary scientific efforts presenting outcomes and challenges are invited to share WEFE Nexus driven scientific models, geospatial solutions, stakeholder engagement, gender dimension, policy and guidelines innovations among further models and methods aiming to foster a cooperative ecosystem where technology aids decision-making in Nexus thinking for addressing WEFE security

The United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set a milestone in the evolution of society's efforts towards sustainable development which must combine social inclusion, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. The definition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the associated Global Indicator Framework represent a data-driven framework helping countries in evidence-based decision-making and development policies.

Earth observation (EO) data, including satellite and in-situ networks, and EO data analytics and machine learning plays a key role in assessing progress toward meeting the SDGs, since it can make the 2030 Agenda monitoring and reporting viable, technically and financially and be beneficial in making SDG indicators' monitoring and reporting comparable across countries.

This session invites contributions on how to make use of Earth Observations data to address SDG monitoring and reporting, in particular welcomes presentations about EO-driven scientific approaches, EO-based tools, and EO scientific initiative and projects to build, assess and monitor UN SDGs indicators.

This session aims to (re)introduce biodiversity, an essential component of many aspects of life on Earth, as a notion that offers a wide array of multidisciplinary work from numerous fields of research, including but not limited to the geosciences and ecology. While biological diversity is vital for natural ecosystems such as forests and wetlands, and crucial for maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems, soil systems, and oceans, it is also a factor that affects an ecosystems response to disturbances, affecting notions such as (ecosystem) integrity, health and resilience. Biodiversity is also intrinsically linked with the Earth’s processes, geomorphology, formation, and development. United Nation’s definition of biodiversity, or biological diversity, is: the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. A wide range of studies on biological diversity also encompass ecological diversity, and ecosystem diversity, since the diversity of ecosystems also affects the diversity of organisms that inhabit them. Earth Science recognizes the role of biotic factors in governing geophysical processes across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Studies show that the control of biota might be part of a longer-term cycle, in which the dominance of biotic and abiotic processes not only switch, but depend on each other. Biota and abiotic processes may have co-evolved over both longer and shorter timescales. Scientific evidence from the geoscience community is therefore valuable in many political decisions for restoration, or rewilding, including the recent EU Nature Restoration Law. Also, research in these fields may contribute to policy on preparation for and/or prevention from natural hazards, including those that may be triggered by climate change. However, to be able to contribute to these processes, we need to be able to recognize the range of areas where our expertise is relevant and useful.

This session aims to recognize the wide range of geoscience research projects that focus on or highlight aspects of biodiversity, while welcoming those that favor inter- and/or transdisciplinary approaches. Through these presentations, we hope to demonstrate the broad spectrum of biodiversity-related areas in which the geosciences contribute and where more geoscience research is needed.

Accurate and precise, long-term measurements of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations continue to show the rapid and unceasing rise of global GHG concentrations due to human activity. The resulting increases in global temperatures, sea-level, glacial retreat, and other negative impacts are clear. In response to this evidence, nations, states, and cities, industries and individuals have been accelerating GHG emission reduction and other mitigation efforts while working towards equitable development and environmental justice. The urgency, complexity, and economic implications of the needed GHG emission reductions and other climate action demand strategic investment in science-based information for planning, implementing, and tracking emission reduction policies and actions. An example of an intergovernmental response can be seen in the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS) and WMO’s newly established Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (GGGW) initiative. These initiatives, together with other national and international, efforts seek to enhance the capacity of nations, states, cities, and industries to target emissions reduction opportunities and track progress towards their goals. Success depends on infrastructure investments and the availability of measurements of atmospheric composition, GHG fluxes, and emission activity data in key GHG emission source regions and relies on a multi-tiered observing strategy involving satellite, aircraft, and surface-based measurements, as well as innovative data mining, modeling and analysis methods.

This session intends to gather presentations from researchers, inventory compilers, information service providers, as well as decision-maker and policy user-community. The session seeks presentations of work focused on the development, implementation, use and impact of measurement-based, together with statistical and novel means of tracking emissions activity data-driven, as well as hybrid combinations of both approaches for GHG monitoring and improved emission inventory estimates that deliver actionable GHG information. Actionable information must have the needed temporal and spatial details to target and track explicit emission activity where climate action is achievable from facilities to cities to nations and ultimately our ability to determine the integrated efficacy of our emission reduction efforts at the global scale in support of Paris agreement stocktake.

Accurate and precise, long-term measurements of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations continue to show the rapid and unceasing rise of global GHG concentrations due to human activity. The resulting increases in global temperatures, sea-level, glacial retreat, and other negative impacts are clear. In response to this evidence, nations, states, and cities, industries and individuals have been accelerating GHG emission reduction and other mitigation efforts while working towards equitable development and environmental justice. The urgency, complexity, and economic implications of the needed GHG emission reductions and other climate action demand strategic investment in science-based information for planning, implementing, and tracking emission reduction policies and actions. An example of an intergovernmental response can be seen in the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS) and WMO’s newly established Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (GGGW) initiative. These initiatives, together with other national and international, efforts seek to enhance the capacity of nations, states, cities, and industries to target emissions reduction opportunities and track progress towards their goals. Success depends on infrastructure investments and the availability of measurements of atmospheric composition, GHG fluxes, and emission activity data in key GHG emission source regions and relies on a multi-tiered observing strategy involving satellite, aircraft, and surface-based measurements, as well as innovative data mining, modeling and analysis methods.

This session intends to gather presentations from researchers, inventory compilers, information service providers, as well as decision-maker and policy user-community. The session seeks presentations of work focused on the development, implementation, use and impact of measurement-based, together with statistical and novel means of tracking emissions activity data-driven, as well as hybrid combinations of both approaches for GHG monitoring and improved emission inventory estimates that deliver actionable GHG information. Actionable information must have the needed temporal and spatial details to target and track explicit emission activity where climate action is achievable from facilities to cities to nations and ultimately our ability to determine the integrated efficacy of our emission reduction efforts at the global scale in support of Paris agreement stocktake.

Achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement requires deep greenhouse gas emissions reductions towards a net-zero world. Advancements in mitigation-relevant science should continuously inform the strategies and measures that society pursues to achieve net zero. This session aims to further our understanding of the climate response with particular interest in remaining carbon budgets, emission pathways entailing net-zero targets and overshoot, carbon dioxide removal strategies, the theoretical underpinnings of these concepts, and their policy implications. We invite contributions that use various tools, including fully coupled Earth System Models (ESMs), Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), or simple climate model emulators.

This year, we have a special focus on risks inherent to overshoot scenarios that have so far been under-researched. Those risks can be related to 1) the feasibility of the large-scale deployment of negative emissions (e.g., carbon dioxide removal) technologies, 2) the potential for long-term irreversible climate impacts even in cases where global warming is reverted, and 3) their implications for climate change (mal)adaptation.

We welcome studies exploring all aspects of climate change and its impacts in response to future ambitious mitigation scenarios. In addition to studies exploring the remaining carbon budget and the TCRE framework, we welcome contributions on the zero emissions commitment (ZEC), effects of different forcings and feedbacks (e.g. permafrost carbon feedback) and non-CO2 forcings (e.g. aerosols, and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases), and climate effects of carbon removal strategies. Additionally, we welcome submissions on the climate response to emission pathway and rate, and the climate-carbon responses to different forcing scenarios or implementations (e.g. SSP scenarios, or idealized scenarios). Contributions from the fields of climate policy and economics focused on applications of carbon budgets, net-zero pathways including residual emission estimates and benefits of early mitigation are also encouraged.

Geoscientists are actively engaged in advancing knowledge pertaining to current climate change and environmental crisis, and disseminating it to a broad audience, from the general public to policymakers and stakeholders.

To date, efforts to trigger radical transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society actors, have overwhelmingly fallen short of the urgent actions recommended by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Some scholars argue that the underlying issue lies not primarily in the absence of information (Oreskes, The trouble with the supply-side model of science, 2022), but rather in the power dynamics among various stakeholders and that recognizing this is fundamental (Stoddard et al., Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven’t We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?, 2013).
This session targets the diverse roles that geoscientists can play in accelerating the radical transformation of our society to address the current ecological crisis.

Key questions include: How to engage with civil society, stakeholders and policymakers to ensure the implementation of research findings into appropriate policies? How to assess and reduce the ecological footprint of scientific institution, as to show exemplary pathways to the rest of society? How to expand outreach and training efforts, and towards who, the general public or specific stakeholders such as elected representatives, civil servants, economic actors, or even fellow academics? How to contribute and assist legal actions against private or public entities? Should scientists engage in disruptive actions and civil disobedience to transform their own institutions and press on problematic actors, such as the fossil fuel industry?
 
We invite contributions that address these questions, whether from a theoretical perspective or through firsthand experiences. We are particularly interested in examples of research projects or collaborations that have attempted to assess their impact on any of the strategies given above (e.g., ecological footprints, policies, litigation, communication, or pressing on relevant stakeholders). Interdisciplinary work, spanning fields like philosophy, history, sociology, and their application to science or broader societal aspects, is highly encouraged.

This session aims to (re)introduce biodiversity, an essential component of many aspects of life on Earth, as a notion that offers a wide array of multidisciplinary work from numerous fields of research, including but not limited to the geosciences and ecology. While biological diversity is vital for natural ecosystems such as forests and wetlands, and crucial for maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems, soil systems, and oceans, it is also a factor that affects an ecosystems response to disturbances, affecting notions such as (ecosystem) integrity, health and resilience. Biodiversity is also intrinsically linked with the Earth’s processes, geomorphology, formation, and development. United Nation’s definition of biodiversity, or biological diversity, is: the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. A wide range of studies on biological diversity also encompass ecological diversity, and ecosystem diversity, since the diversity of ecosystems also affects the diversity of organisms that inhabit them. Earth Science recognizes the role of biotic factors in governing geophysical processes across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Studies show that the control of biota might be part of a longer-term cycle, in which the dominance of biotic and abiotic processes not only switch, but depend on each other. Biota and abiotic processes may have co-evolved over both longer and shorter timescales. Scientific evidence from the geoscience community is therefore valuable in many political decisions for restoration, or rewilding, including the recent EU Nature Restoration Law. Also, research in these fields may contribute to policy on preparation for and/or prevention from natural hazards, including those that may be triggered by climate change. However, to be able to contribute to these processes, we need to be able to recognize the range of areas where our expertise is relevant and useful.

This session aims to recognize the wide range of geoscience research projects that focus on or highlight aspects of biodiversity, while welcoming those that favor inter- and/or transdisciplinary approaches. Through these presentations, we hope to demonstrate the broad spectrum of biodiversity-related areas in which the geosciences contribute and where more geoscience research is needed.

Achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement requires deep greenhouse gas emissions reductions towards a net-zero world. Advancements in mitigation-relevant science should continuously inform the strategies and measures that society pursues to achieve net zero. This session aims to further our understanding of the climate response with particular interest in remaining carbon budgets, emission pathways entailing net-zero targets and overshoot, carbon dioxide removal strategies, the theoretical underpinnings of these concepts, and their policy implications. We invite contributions that use various tools, including fully coupled Earth System Models (ESMs), Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), or simple climate model emulators.

This year, we have a special focus on risks inherent to overshoot scenarios that have so far been under-researched. Those risks can be related to 1) the feasibility of the large-scale deployment of negative emissions (e.g., carbon dioxide removal) technologies, 2) the potential for long-term irreversible climate impacts even in cases where global warming is reverted, and 3) their implications for climate change (mal)adaptation.

We welcome studies exploring all aspects of climate change and its impacts in response to future ambitious mitigation scenarios. In addition to studies exploring the remaining carbon budget and the TCRE framework, we welcome contributions on the zero emissions commitment (ZEC), effects of different forcings and feedbacks (e.g. permafrost carbon feedback) and non-CO2 forcings (e.g. aerosols, and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases), and climate effects of carbon removal strategies. Additionally, we welcome submissions on the climate response to emission pathway and rate, and the climate-carbon responses to different forcing scenarios or implementations (e.g. SSP scenarios, or idealized scenarios). Contributions from the fields of climate policy and economics focused on applications of carbon budgets, net-zero pathways including residual emission estimates and benefits of early mitigation are also encouraged.

In this short course, we will teach researchers the basics of making accurate and well-calibrated predictions, then get them to apply their skills to a range of problems in emissions scenarios, climate science and climate impacts.

Climate science is valuable because of its power to predict the future and guide it positively, but very little time goes into assessing how well we do and how we can do better with the human predictions we still rely on. For many problems encountered, there are no explicit models for how things will proceed, and we therefore rely on “expert judgement”. However, prediction comparisons find that in some domains, experts are worse than the less-informed public.

We will teach people how to express their beliefs systematically and explain some tools and platforms that facilitate doing this. Finally we’ll elicit predictions to inform climate modellers of high-risk missing data, inform IAM makers of realistic scenarios and inform policymakers of the realistic levels of climate change they will need to adapt to.

Early career researchers, late career researchers and all with an interest in learning how to make better predictions are welcome.

Climate services challenge the traditional interface between users and providers of climate information as it requires the establishment of a dialogue between subjects, who often have limited knowledge of each other’s activities and practices. Increasing the understanding and usability of climate information for societal use has become a major challenge where economic growth, and social development crucially depends on adaptation to climate variability and change.

To this regard, climate services do not only create user-relevant climate information but also stimulate the need to quantify vulnerabilities and come up with appropriate adaptation solutions that can be applied in practice.

The operational generation, management and delivery of climate services poses a number of new challenges to the traditional way of accessing and distributing climate data. With a growing private sector playing the role of service provider is important to understand what are the roles and the responsibilities of the publicly funded provision of climate data and information and services.

This session aims to gather best practices and lessons learnt, for how climate services can successfully facilitate adaptation to climate variability and change by providing climate information that is tailored to the real user need.
Contributions are strongly encouraged from international efforts (GFCS, CSP, ClimatEurope…); European Initiatives (H2020, ERA4CS, C3S, JPI-Climate) as well as national, regional and local experiences.

For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm regarding the climate and ecological crisis. Each successive report has delivered alarming findings, yet regrettably, these warnings have been met with insufficient responses and political inertia. Consequently, the disastrous effects of human activity on land, water, and atmosphere persist, surpassing the Earth's system boundaries and posing significant threats to both nature and humanity [1,2]. Concurrently, an impassioned climate movement has emerged, led primarily by young activists demanding immediate climate action [3]. As the consequences of the climate crisis become increasingly evident, also scientists and academics are contemplating the most effective roles they can assume within our next to this movement [4,5,6].
This course explores the role of social movements in driving change. We'll discuss how scientists and academic institutions can contribute to urgent climate action. We highly encourage participants to share examples of how scientists can collaborate with their institutions to incorporate advocacy and activism into the academic narrative. Our goal is to inspire participants to think about their roles and provide stepping stones to take meaningful action. The course unfolds in three distinct parts.
1. Interdisciplinary insights: Invited experts will shed light on social movements and universities' roles in historical changes.
2. Scientists in action: Discussion on the pivotal roles scientists and institutions can play in climate justice today, using case studies by facilitators and participants.
3. Brainstorming ways forward: Through interactive discussions and group activities, we'll explore action avenues, from transformative changes in the university to joining non-violent civil disobedience actions.
This short course transcends traditional academic boundaries and seeks to nurture enthusiasm for collective academic action, empowering scientists to step out of their comfort zones and into a world in environmental emergency mode. The course is organized by scientists who are also members of Scientist Rebellion, which advocates for a paradigm shift in the role of scientists—from passive observers to proactive activists pressing for the urgent and necessary actions.
[1] IPCC AR6 SYR 2023 [2] Rockström et al. 2023 Nature [3] Shuman et al. 2021 JPSP [4] Artico et al. 2023 Front Sustain [5] Capstick et al. 2022 Nat. Clim. Chang. [6] Gardner et al. 2021 Front Sustain

Data plays a crucial role in driving innovation and making informed decisions. The European strategy for data is a vision of data spaces that aims to foster creativity and open data, while also prioritizing personal data protection, consumer safeguards, and FAIR principles. Satellite imagery has transformative potential, but limitations of data size and access have previously constrained applications.

Additional thematic or geographical data spaces are being developed, such as the European sectorial data spaces, the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem and Green Deal Data Space. These provide access to high-quality, interoperable data, through streamlined access, on-board processing and online visualization generating actionable knowledge and supporting more effective decision-making. These novel tools of this digital ecosystem create a vast range of opportunities for geoscience research, development and communication at local to global scale. Operational applications such as monitoring networks and early warning systems are built on top of these infrastructures, facilitating governance and sustainability in the face of global challenges. Worldwide satellite imagery data series can be accessed through API systems, creating analysis ready data for advanced machine learning applications. Put together, these advances in data availability, analysis tools and processing capacity are transformative for geoscience research. There is a growing demand for a deeper understanding of their design, establishment, integration, and evolution within the environmental and Earth sciences. As a geoscience community, it is imperative that we explore how data spaces can revolutionize our work and actively contribute to their development.

This session connects developers and users of the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem and other European satellite data infrastructures and Data Spaces, showing how data spaces facilitate the sharing, integration, and flexible processing of environmental and Earth system data from diverse sources. The speakers will discuss how ongoing efforts to build data spaces will connect with existing initiatives on data sharing and processing, and present examples of innovative services that can be developed using data spacess. By leveraging these cutting-edge tools within the digital ecosystem, the geoscience community will gain access to a vast range of opportunities for research, development, and communication at local and global scales.

The United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set a milestone in the evolution of society's efforts towards sustainable development which must combine social inclusion, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. The definition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the associated Global Indicator Framework represent a data-driven framework helping countries in evidence-based decision-making and development policies.

Earth observation (EO) data, including satellite and in-situ networks, and EO data analytics and machine learning plays a key role in assessing progress toward meeting the SDGs, since it can make the 2030 Agenda monitoring and reporting viable, technically and financially and be beneficial in making SDG indicators' monitoring and reporting comparable across countries.

This session invites contributions on how to make use of Earth Observations data to address SDG monitoring and reporting, in particular welcomes presentations about EO-driven scientific approaches, EO-based tools, and EO scientific initiative and projects to build, assess and monitor UN SDGs indicators.

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

After the PhD, a new challenge begins: finding a position where you can continue your research or a
job outside academia where you can apply your advanced skills. This task is not
always easy, and frequently a general overview of the available positions is missing. Furthermore,
in some divisions, up to 70% of PhD graduates will go into work outside of academia. There are many
different careers which require or benefit from a research background. But often, students and
early career scientists struggle to make the transition due to reduced support and networking.
In this panel discussion, scientists with a range of backgrounds give their advice on where to find
jobs, how to transition between academia and industry and what are the pros and cons of a career
inside and outside of academia.
In the final section of the short course, a Q+A will provide the audience with a chance to ask
their questions to the panel. This panel discussion is aimed at early career scientists but anyone
with an interest in a change of career will find it useful. An extension of this short course will
run in the networking and early career scientist lounge, for further in-depth or
one-on-one questions with panel members.

How to learn and get the key info when listening to the report of a colleague who works on
something completely different from you but on the same project? How to deliver your report so
that everyone understands you? How to find common ground for joint research which will impact
both the project and your career?
Trans-disciplinarity and cross-fertilisation are key aspects of many research projects, especially
when dealing with natural hazards. To study the natural phenomenon and evaluating hazard and
risk related to them, in fact, there is the need of many different and technical expertise. Many
European founded projects award a collaboration between hard and social science. Approaching
such complex and multifaceted topics, especially in the first phase of one’s career can be very
challenging. This short course is created by and dedicated to Early Career Scientists. The main aim
is to deliver simple but effective tools to use when working on a trans-disciplinary, cross-cultural
project.

Science communication includes the efforts of natural, physical and social scientists, communications professionals, and teams that communicate the process and values of science and scientific findings to non-specialist audiences outside of formal educational settings. The goals of science communication can include enhanced dialogue, understanding, awareness, enthusiasm, improving decision making, or influencing behaviors. Channels can include in-person interaction, online, social media, mass media, or other methods. This session invites presentations by individuals and teams on science communication practice, research, and reflection, addressing questions like:

What kind of communication efforts are you engaging in and how you are doing it?
How is social science informing understandings of audiences, strategies, or effects?
What are lessons learned from long-term communication efforts?

This session invites you to share your work and join a community of practice to inform and advance the effective communication of earth and space science.

The effectiveness of disaster risk mitigation actions depends not only on the implementation of specific measures such as safety protocols, but also on how well at-risk communities accept, react and contribute to, or care about them. Involving the at-risk community in the studies of hazards and risks can result in an increased awareness and enhanced knowledge on appropriate mitigation and preparedness options. In this sense, risk communication and citizen science are becoming increasingly significant. Scientists and experts play a key role in establishing confidence in the public opinion and in improving the communication efforts of institutions in charge of the public communication. While the risk communication field offers many best practices that can be adapted by and reproduced in different communities, it also faces many challenges, including reaching the right audiences and conveying the right messages .

This session is dedicated to scientists, science communicators and practitioners with a particular focus on Early Career Scientists. The aim of the session is to create a space for discussion of best practices and theoretical approaches when practicing risk communication or citizen science. We welcome submissions exploring different approaches for producing and sharing risk information related to natural and/or anthropogenic hazards considering key factors affecting risk communication (e.g., stakeholder engagement, cultural awareness and sensitivity, the temporality of risk communication, and uncertainties). Of special interest are contributions addressing the dynamics of risk communication from hazard preparation and response to crisis recovery. Moreover, we encourage contributions on how to evaluate the impacts of such efforts and how to include science communication in a scientist’s daily activities.

Scientific knowledge is crucial for shaping policies related to climate, environment, sustainability, and resources. To have an impact on politics, research needs to communicate in a way that addresses needs and offers solutions. However, it is important to identify the most effective science policy formats that can contribute to enriching political debates. While there are now many resources available to scientists who would like to engage in the policymaking process, finding specific information or practical examples that relate to a specific discipline or field of research can be challenging.

This session aims to bridge that gap by highlighting success stories from scientists who have engaged in policy and made critical societal impacts – either on a European, national, or local level – across different scientific disciplines and science officers who have facilitated successful science-policy-dialogues. It will also aim to examine the various challenges that researchers face when engaging on the science-policy interface and various strategies that others have taken to manage and overcome them.

This session is relevant for scientists and science officers from all career levels and science disciplines and will provide space for follow-up questions and a discussion with the participants at the session and at a splinter meeting on EGU Monday.

Geoscientists are actively engaged in advancing knowledge pertaining to current climate change and environmental crisis, and disseminating it to a broad audience, from the general public to policymakers and stakeholders.

To date, efforts to trigger radical transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society actors, have overwhelmingly fallen short of the urgent actions recommended by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Some scholars argue that the underlying issue lies not primarily in the absence of information (Oreskes, The trouble with the supply-side model of science, 2022), but rather in the power dynamics among various stakeholders and that recognizing this is fundamental (Stoddard et al., Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven’t We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?, 2013).
This session targets the diverse roles that geoscientists can play in accelerating the radical transformation of our society to address the current ecological crisis.

Key questions include: How to engage with civil society, stakeholders and policymakers to ensure the implementation of research findings into appropriate policies? How to assess and reduce the ecological footprint of scientific institution, as to show exemplary pathways to the rest of society? How to expand outreach and training efforts, and towards who, the general public or specific stakeholders such as elected representatives, civil servants, economic actors, or even fellow academics? How to contribute and assist legal actions against private or public entities? Should scientists engage in disruptive actions and civil disobedience to transform their own institutions and press on problematic actors, such as the fossil fuel industry?
 
We invite contributions that address these questions, whether from a theoretical perspective or through firsthand experiences. We are particularly interested in examples of research projects or collaborations that have attempted to assess their impact on any of the strategies given above (e.g., ecological footprints, policies, litigation, communication, or pressing on relevant stakeholders). Interdisciplinary work, spanning fields like philosophy, history, sociology, and their application to science or broader societal aspects, is highly encouraged.

Contributing to the policymaking process is a great way to engage with those outside of academia and to ensure your research has an impact! During this session, a panel of experts will build on the concepts outlined in the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course by providing participants with an overview of the competences and skills that can help ensure that your policy engagement is meaningful and has an impact!

In the first half of the session, participants will be introduced to the Science for Policy Competence Framework Smart4Policy self-assessment tool created by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The panelists will then provide an outline of the European policy landscape and some of the specific mechanisms that scientists can use to engage with it.

While it is recommended that participants attend the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course before this session, it isn’t necessary.

Reducing disaster risk is critical to securing the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and natural hazard scientists are key to achieving this aim. This short course provides practical tips and strategies to support the natural hazards community to strengthen their engagement in disaster risk reduction efforts. The content of this course is based on a paper published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-187-2021) and a self-led online training course supported by the EGU Training School Fund.

Who should join this course? The course is particularly designed for students, early-career scientists, and experienced natural hazard scientists who are keen to enhance the contribution of their work to the planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities. While we look at the (geo)science-policy-practice interface through the example of disaster risk reduction, many of the themes we cover are relevant to those using geoscience to address other societal challenges. For example, themes relating to partnerships, cultural understanding, and equitable access to information.

The course structure includes:

(1) Welcome, introductions, brief tour of our NHESS perspective piece on building sustainable and resilient communities: recommended actions for natural hazard scientists (15 min)
(2) Interactive Session - Three Tasks, Central-Asia Case Study (exploring tools and concepts in the NHESS perspective piece (45 min)
(3) Short overview of the open-access online training module (15 min)
(4) Q&A (10 min)
(5) Final break out group discussions (15 min)
(6) Wrap up and thanks (5 min)

Networking is crucial for scientists of all career stages for collaborations as well as for their personal growth and career pathways. Your scientific network can offer valuable support in navigating the challenges of academic life, aiding in career decisions, and providing constructive input on job applications, proposals, and research papers. Not only that but also, a scientific network can offer fresh insights, open doors to interdisciplinary partnerships, and spark innovative projects.

Establishing an initial network can prove daunting, particularly when extending beyond the boundaries of your research institution. As scientific conferences and social media platforms are evolving, the possibilities of academic networking are also changing. In this short course, we will share tips and tricks on how to establish, grow and maintain your scientific network. Additionally, panellists will talk about their own personal experiences. In the latter part of this course, we will engage in a networking exercise to put theory into practice. This short course is relevant to scientists who are starting to build/grow their network or want to learn more about networking in today’s scientific settings.

For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm regarding the climate and ecological crisis. Each successive report has delivered alarming findings, yet regrettably, these warnings have been met with insufficient responses and political inertia. Consequently, the disastrous effects of human activity on land, water, and atmosphere persist, surpassing the Earth's system boundaries and posing significant threats to both nature and humanity [1,2]. Concurrently, an impassioned climate movement has emerged, led primarily by young activists demanding immediate climate action [3]. As the consequences of the climate crisis become increasingly evident, also scientists and academics are contemplating the most effective roles they can assume within our next to this movement [4,5,6].
This course explores the role of social movements in driving change. We'll discuss how scientists and academic institutions can contribute to urgent climate action. We highly encourage participants to share examples of how scientists can collaborate with their institutions to incorporate advocacy and activism into the academic narrative. Our goal is to inspire participants to think about their roles and provide stepping stones to take meaningful action. The course unfolds in three distinct parts.
1. Interdisciplinary insights: Invited experts will shed light on social movements and universities' roles in historical changes.
2. Scientists in action: Discussion on the pivotal roles scientists and institutions can play in climate justice today, using case studies by facilitators and participants.
3. Brainstorming ways forward: Through interactive discussions and group activities, we'll explore action avenues, from transformative changes in the university to joining non-violent civil disobedience actions.
This short course transcends traditional academic boundaries and seeks to nurture enthusiasm for collective academic action, empowering scientists to step out of their comfort zones and into a world in environmental emergency mode. The course is organized by scientists who are also members of Scientist Rebellion, which advocates for a paradigm shift in the role of scientists—from passive observers to proactive activists pressing for the urgent and necessary actions.
[1] IPCC AR6 SYR 2023 [2] Rockström et al. 2023 Nature [3] Shuman et al. 2021 JPSP [4] Artico et al. 2023 Front Sustain [5] Capstick et al. 2022 Nat. Clim. Chang. [6] Gardner et al. 2021 Front Sustain

The science-policy-practice (SPP) nexus approach is considered optimal in the sustainable management and governance of water resources, which lies at the heart of the global development. Whilst the science-policy interaction has received considerable attention, the practice component of this nexus remains to be comprehensively promoted for both improving operational hydrology services and achieving science-informed policies.

Operational hydrology as part of practice is defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as “the real-time and regular measurement, collection, processing, archiving and distribution of hydrological, hydrometeorological and cryospheric data, and the generation of analyses, models, forecasts and warnings which inform water resources management and support water-related decisions, across a spectrum of temporal and spatial scales'' (WMO, 2019). The operationalization of research for hydrological services is not straightforward.

Whilst applied hydrology research is of direct relevance to many professionals - such as national hydromet agencies and catchment managers - uptake is still limited. Development and sharing of methods/tools by the scientific community is necessary for translating scientific information into a format facilitating education, decisionmaking and policy formulation (UNESCO IHP IX, 2022-2029). Making hydrology research actionable should be a priority strategy in the design of knowledge translation mechanisms. In the context of SPP, this requires alignment of needs/expectations and an understanding of the frameworks that different stakeholders must work within, and the agendas/ legal constraints contemporary and salient to them and their funders.

Liaising with stakeholders, policy-makers, and society is needed not only to turn research into impactful action but also to improve research outcomes by capturing issues that cannot be understood via disciplinary lenses. It is necessary to create the interdisciplinary knowledge needed to address the questions faced by decision-makers and all the societal stakeholders.

For this session, we welcome contributions on interdisciplinary collaborations and existing hydrology initiatives, organizations, and networks that offer modalities and frameworks aimed at connecting typically isolated stakeholders of research and improving hydrological research-services interface on various scales and directions.

Water governance predominantly operates at national scales. This underscores the necessity for national or country-scale hydrological models. The inclination towards scales larger than single catchments or aquifers encounters distinct challenges because large spatial grids may often compromise on spatial resolution. Furthermore, their computational demands can make them less suited for specific national applications, especially when contending with the unique nuances of each country's water governance policies and regulations. This session endeavors to spotlight the critical role of national-scale hydrological models in the precise assessment and strategic management of freshwater resources in concert with national governance frameworks. We invite submissions from the hydrological community focusing on the evaluation of freshwater resources at a national scale, the application of hydrological models for national-scale water resource management, and the integration of observations with models to address country-specific freshwater issues. Furthermore, developers of national-scale hydrological models are particularly encouraged to share their insights and advancements.

The Early Warning for All initiative in alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) recognizes that increased efforts are required to develop life-saving risk-informed and impact-based multi-hazard early warning systems. Despite remarkable advances in disaster forecasting and warning technology, it remains challenging to produce useful forecasts and warnings that are understood and used to trigger early actions. Overcoming these challenges requires progress that goes beyond the improved skill of natural hazard forecasts. It is crucial to ensure that forecasts reflect on-the-ground impacts, provide actionable information and to understand which implementation barriers exist to do so. This, in turn, requires commitment to the creation and dissemination of risk and impact data as well as the collaborative production of impact-based forecasting services. To deal with these challenges, novel science-based frameworks have recently emerged. For example, Forecast-based Financing and Impact-based Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems are currently being implemented operationally by both governmental and non-governmental organisations in several countries. This achievement is the result of a concerted international effort by academic, governmental/intergovernmental and humanitarian organizations to reduce disaster losses and ensure reaching the objectives of SFDRR. This session aims to offer valuable insights and share best practices on impact-based multi-hazards early warning systems from the perspective of both the knowledge producers and users. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
● Practical applications and use-cases of impact-based forecasts
● Development of cost-efficient early action portfolios
● Methods for translating climate-related and geohazard forecasts into actionable impact-based information
● Action-oriented forecast verification and post-processing techniques to tailor forecasts for early action
● Triangulation of indigenous and scientific knowledge for leveraging forecasts, multi-hazard risk information and climate services to last-mile communities
● Bridging the gaps in risk and impact data to support impact-based forecasting, collecting and expanding data on interventions to build an evidence base for early actions
● Innovative solutions to address challenges in implementing forecast-based actions effectively, including the application of Artificial Intelligence, harnessing big data and earth observations.

Co-organized by ESSI2/GI2, co-sponsored by WMO

This session brings together HS4.6 “Improving hydro-climatic services for the water-related sectors: from S2S forecasting to climate projections, to management and policy” and HS1.2.4 “From observations to action: role of data services in hydrological research and management”.

We present a forum for discussing ideas, efforts and challenges in developing data products and hydro-climate services that aim to support water-related sectors. The session will bring together research scientists and operational managers in the fields of hydrology and climate and will showcase real-world applications of datasets, products, and services for research purposes and/or to tackle societal needs.
This session thus aligns with the goal of the Ninth Phase of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme Strategic Plan (IHP IX; 2022 - 2029), which puts science, research and management into action for a water secure world. The contributions of this session will cover the following topics:

1. Data - observations, forecasts, projections:
- metadata, quality assurance,
- downscaling,
- advances in sub-seasonal, seasonal and decadal hydrological predictions,  
- seamless forecasting techniques and applications,
- data-driven and process-based approaches,
- extreme events prediction.
2. Databases and services:
- improvement in database services,
- operational hydro-climate products and services,
- tools and platforms for data exchange and exploration,
- collaborative and interoperable data platforms for better decision-making.
3. From data to action: role of data and climate services for societal needs
- data-driven studies and projects that aim to support decision-making and policy-making,
- studies showing the contribution of large data services to assessing water resources at national, regional and global scales,
- case studies demonstrating the benefits of operational observation networks to improve local, regional and global hydrological products and services,
- approaches integrating weather, climate and / or socio-economic information into decision-making frameworks,
- perspectives on forecast value for end users.

Quantifying and understanding the impacts of environmental change on water quality and availability across space and time is critically important for ensuring that there is enough water of suitable quality to meet human and ecosystem needs now and in the future. Consequently, there is an urgent need for tools such as models, remote sensing, machine-learning and artificial intelligence algorithms that can anticipate these impacts and address the resulting environmental changes. These assessments in turn facilitate more effective water management that safeguards the critical ecosystem goods and services provided by freshwater resources. In addition, some of these tools, within both Bayesian and frequentist paradigms, enable consideration of prediction reliability, relating uncertainties to a decision makers’ attitudes and preferences towards risks, all while accounting for the uncertainty related to our system understanding, data and random processes. We seek contributions that apply modeling and other approaches to:
• investigate climate change impacts on water quality and quantity from local to global scales, including climate impact attribution studies
• quantify and couple supply and demand in support of water management including vulnerability assessment, scenario analysis, indicators, and the water footprint
• project future water supply and demand in the context of a changing climate, land use, population growth, and other potential drivers of change
• quantify the uncertainty of model predictions (due to data, model structure and parameter uncertainty)
• interpret and characterize uncertainties in machine-learning and data mining approaches that learn from large, possibly high-resolution data sets
• address the problem of scaling (e.g. disparity of scales between processes, observations, model resolution and predictions)
• test transferability and generalizability of findings
• assess water quality and quantity in either data-rich or data-sparse environments
• involve stakeholders in model development and maximise the use of expert knowledge to inform risk analysis and decision support, incl. monitoring, reporting and catchment management
• assess robustness in water quality and quantity hotspots

Water sustains societies, economies and ecosystem services locally and globally. Increasing water demands driven by ongoing socioeconomic development, coupled with shifts in water availability due to climate change and variability and land use change, are increasing competition and conflict over access to and use of freshwater resources in many regions around the world. To address these challenges, integrative approaches to water management and policy are required to balance and manage trade-offs between social, economic and environmental uses of water. In addition, there is an emerging need for adaptive and flexible solutions capable of updating decisions to newly available information, often issued in the form of weather or streamflow forecasts or extracted from observational data collected via pervasive sensor networks, remote sensing, cyberinfrastructure, or crowdsourcing. This session will provide a forum for showcasing novel and emerging research at the intersection of agricultural production, energy security, water supply, economic development, and environmental conservation. In particular, we encourage contributions to the session that: (i) identify knowledge gaps and improvements to understanding about the critical interconnections, feedbacks, and risks between system components, (ii) highlight development of new methods or tools for evaluating and monitoring trade-offs and performance in water allocation and management between different users and sectors, (iii) evaluate alternative technological, policy, and/or governance interventions to address water-food-energy-environment system challenges in different locations and at various scales (local, regional, and/or global), and (iv) advance the use of multi-sectoral forecasts combined with data analytics machine learning algorithms for informing the real-time control of water systems. We welcome real-world examples on the successful application of these methods to facilitate integrated planning and management of water-food-energy-environment systems.

Human society and the natural environment are profoundly intertwined. Human activities such as food and energy production and consumption can directly impair environmental sustainability by causing local water stress, regional air pollution, and global climate change. At the same time, the natural environment plays a vital role in providing essential resources and services for human survival, such as water, energy, and food, and can have severe feedbacks on human society. For instance, changes in hydrological dynamics induced by climate change can threaten energy and food security by causing spatial and temporal mismatches between water availability and the demand for water in agriculture and energy production. This amplifies challenges at the water-energy-food-environment nexus, which are further intensified by rapid urbanization, soaring economic development, increasing energy and food demand, and growing competition for water across sectors. If unaddressed, these challenges can contribute to a destructive positive feedback loop that is threatening to aggravate resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and social inequality. Effectively navigating the water-energy-food-environment (WEFE) nexus under social and climate change requires holistic approaches that consider the interdependencies and feedbacks within and across these systems. It necessitates balancing competing demands, optimizing resource efficiency, promoting sustainable practices, maximizing synergies, and fostering collaboration among various stakeholders.

We invite contributions evaluating the vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity of WEFE nexus systems in the face of global change that particularly have real-world implications or are based on real-world practices. We further invite contributions focusing on harmonization, planning, and equitable allocation within the nexus system that can provide insights for policy-making towards a more sustainable development of resource systems through nexus management. We also welcome successful regional case studies or experiments that focus the interactions between two elements of the water-energy-food-environment nexus with a focus on sustainability.

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

Reducing disaster risk is critical to securing the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and natural hazard scientists are key to achieving this aim. This short course provides practical tips and strategies to support the natural hazards community to strengthen their engagement in disaster risk reduction efforts. The content of this course is based on a paper published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-187-2021) and a self-led online training course supported by the EGU Training School Fund.

Who should join this course? The course is particularly designed for students, early-career scientists, and experienced natural hazard scientists who are keen to enhance the contribution of their work to the planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities. While we look at the (geo)science-policy-practice interface through the example of disaster risk reduction, many of the themes we cover are relevant to those using geoscience to address other societal challenges. For example, themes relating to partnerships, cultural understanding, and equitable access to information.

The course structure includes:

(1) Welcome, introductions, brief tour of our NHESS perspective piece on building sustainable and resilient communities: recommended actions for natural hazard scientists (15 min)
(2) Interactive Session - Three Tasks, Central-Asia Case Study (exploring tools and concepts in the NHESS perspective piece (45 min)
(3) Short overview of the open-access online training module (15 min)
(4) Q&A (10 min)
(5) Final break out group discussions (15 min)
(6) Wrap up and thanks (5 min)

Water scarcity, food security, energy transition and environmental protection issues represent challenges of paramount importance. Climatic and demographic change stressors determine further uncertainties. Governors are called to take important decisions to support fair allocation of resources, mitigate conflicts and sustain social cohesion while managing socio-economic pressures and foster climate change adaptation across diverse scales. Science studies validated methods and data for investigating and quantifying the interlinkages of the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus components. Nevertheless, WEFE Nexus knowledge and technology transfer is still falling behind.

Stakeholders engagement, ethics and gender dimension represent key topics while mainstreaming WEFE Nexus approaches. Citizens and stakeholders are not adequately informed and involved perceiving to receive Nexus-driven technological and policy advancements as a top-down enforcement, like a burden, rather than understanding their multiple benefits towards a safer and healthier water-energy-food production.

Science-driven WEFE Nexus models, are also approaching a mature stage, but, the knowledge and technological transfer of WEFE Nexus science is facing severe technical and non-technical barriers. Several WEFE Nexus scientific and innovation programs showed that technological innovation shall work in synergy with a behavioural and mindset change while considering social, cultural and historical dimension. To work towards overcoming this gap, this session explores how the capabilities of these technologies can lead to more effective resource allocation, improved sustainability practices, and conflict resolution between competing demands.

This session promotes contributions working on WEFE Nexus approaches with particular focus on research, innovation and case studies working across multiple scales. Transdisciplinary scientific efforts presenting outcomes and challenges are invited to share WEFE Nexus driven scientific models, geospatial solutions, stakeholder engagement, gender dimension, policy and guidelines innovations among further models and methods aiming to foster a cooperative ecosystem where technology aids decision-making in Nexus thinking for addressing WEFE security

The Early Warning for All initiative in alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) recognizes that increased efforts are required to develop life-saving risk-informed and impact-based multi-hazard early warning systems. Despite remarkable advances in disaster forecasting and warning technology, it remains challenging to produce useful forecasts and warnings that are understood and used to trigger early actions. Overcoming these challenges requires progress that goes beyond the improved skill of natural hazard forecasts. It is crucial to ensure that forecasts reflect on-the-ground impacts, provide actionable information and to understand which implementation barriers exist to do so. This, in turn, requires commitment to the creation and dissemination of risk and impact data as well as the collaborative production of impact-based forecasting services. To deal with these challenges, novel science-based frameworks have recently emerged. For example, Forecast-based Financing and Impact-based Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems are currently being implemented operationally by both governmental and non-governmental organisations in several countries. This achievement is the result of a concerted international effort by academic, governmental/intergovernmental and humanitarian organizations to reduce disaster losses and ensure reaching the objectives of SFDRR. This session aims to offer valuable insights and share best practices on impact-based multi-hazards early warning systems from the perspective of both the knowledge producers and users. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
● Practical applications and use-cases of impact-based forecasts
● Development of cost-efficient early action portfolios
● Methods for translating climate-related and geohazard forecasts into actionable impact-based information
● Action-oriented forecast verification and post-processing techniques to tailor forecasts for early action
● Triangulation of indigenous and scientific knowledge for leveraging forecasts, multi-hazard risk information and climate services to last-mile communities
● Bridging the gaps in risk and impact data to support impact-based forecasting, collecting and expanding data on interventions to build an evidence base for early actions
● Innovative solutions to address challenges in implementing forecast-based actions effectively, including the application of Artificial Intelligence, harnessing big data and earth observations.

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

Science communication includes the efforts of natural, physical and social scientists, communications professionals, and teams that communicate the process and values of science and scientific findings to non-specialist audiences outside of formal educational settings. The goals of science communication can include enhanced dialogue, understanding, awareness, enthusiasm, improving decision making, or influencing behaviors. Channels can include in-person interaction, online, social media, mass media, or other methods. This session invites presentations by individuals and teams on science communication practice, research, and reflection, addressing questions like:

What kind of communication efforts are you engaging in and how you are doing it?
How is social science informing understandings of audiences, strategies, or effects?
What are lessons learned from long-term communication efforts?

This session invites you to share your work and join a community of practice to inform and advance the effective communication of earth and space science.

Geoscientists are actively engaged in advancing knowledge pertaining to current climate change and environmental crisis, and disseminating it to a broad audience, from the general public to policymakers and stakeholders.

To date, efforts to trigger radical transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society actors, have overwhelmingly fallen short of the urgent actions recommended by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Some scholars argue that the underlying issue lies not primarily in the absence of information (Oreskes, The trouble with the supply-side model of science, 2022), but rather in the power dynamics among various stakeholders and that recognizing this is fundamental (Stoddard et al., Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven’t We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?, 2013).
This session targets the diverse roles that geoscientists can play in accelerating the radical transformation of our society to address the current ecological crisis.

Key questions include: How to engage with civil society, stakeholders and policymakers to ensure the implementation of research findings into appropriate policies? How to assess and reduce the ecological footprint of scientific institution, as to show exemplary pathways to the rest of society? How to expand outreach and training efforts, and towards who, the general public or specific stakeholders such as elected representatives, civil servants, economic actors, or even fellow academics? How to contribute and assist legal actions against private or public entities? Should scientists engage in disruptive actions and civil disobedience to transform their own institutions and press on problematic actors, such as the fossil fuel industry?
 
We invite contributions that address these questions, whether from a theoretical perspective or through firsthand experiences. We are particularly interested in examples of research projects or collaborations that have attempted to assess their impact on any of the strategies given above (e.g., ecological footprints, policies, litigation, communication, or pressing on relevant stakeholders). Interdisciplinary work, spanning fields like philosophy, history, sociology, and their application to science or broader societal aspects, is highly encouraged.

Reducing disaster risk is critical to securing the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and natural hazard scientists are key to achieving this aim. This short course provides practical tips and strategies to support the natural hazards community to strengthen their engagement in disaster risk reduction efforts. The content of this course is based on a paper published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-187-2021) and a self-led online training course supported by the EGU Training School Fund.

Who should join this course? The course is particularly designed for students, early-career scientists, and experienced natural hazard scientists who are keen to enhance the contribution of their work to the planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities. While we look at the (geo)science-policy-practice interface through the example of disaster risk reduction, many of the themes we cover are relevant to those using geoscience to address other societal challenges. For example, themes relating to partnerships, cultural understanding, and equitable access to information.

The course structure includes:

(1) Welcome, introductions, brief tour of our NHESS perspective piece on building sustainable and resilient communities: recommended actions for natural hazard scientists (15 min)
(2) Interactive Session - Three Tasks, Central-Asia Case Study (exploring tools and concepts in the NHESS perspective piece (45 min)
(3) Short overview of the open-access online training module (15 min)
(4) Q&A (10 min)
(5) Final break out group discussions (15 min)
(6) Wrap up and thanks (5 min)

As highlighted by the UN development goals, climate change is a reality to which we need to adapt. However, the many disciplines required to effectively plan and adapt to climate change often work in isolation. For example, physical climate modelling, hydrology, and hazard impact and risk assessment are largely separate disciplines with difficulties interacting due to different terminologies and backgrounds. Moreover, until recently, climate modellers did not have the capability to generate long-term projections at a spatial and temporal resolution useful for impact studies.

With the advent of kilometre-scale atmospheric models, called convection-permitting models CPMs, high resolution remote sensed data sets, and global sub-daily rainfall observations, we are now in a position to bridge the gap between disciplines, sharing knowledge and understanding. With all these tools at our disposal we have substantially improved the representation of sub-daily precipitation characteristics and have model output at a spatial resolution closer to what many impacts modellers, for example hydrologists, need. Now is the time to exploit these high-resolution, consistent datasets as input for impact studies and adaptation strategies; to foster interdisciplinary collaboration to build a common language and understand limitations and needs of the different fields; to learn together how to provide policymakers with information that can be used to design effective measures at to adapt to climate change as well as to inform mitigation decisions.

This interdisciplinary session invites contributions that address the linkages between high-resolution climate scientists, impact modellers, and end users with a special focus on:
- Recent advances in climate modelling for impact studies, particularly using high resolution convection- permitting models.
- Bias correction techniques to overcome bias in climate models affecting impact models.
- Analysis of the uncertainty propagation from climate into impact models.
- Improved understanding of processes that will alter hazards resulting from climate change.
- Novel use of new and existing observational data sets in characterising and quantifying climate change hazards.
- Examples of good practice, storylines and communication to both stakeholders and policymakers.

Data plays a crucial role in driving innovation and making informed decisions. The European strategy for data is a vision of data spaces that aims to foster creativity and open data, while also prioritizing personal data protection, consumer safeguards, and FAIR principles. Satellite imagery has transformative potential, but limitations of data size and access have previously constrained applications.

Additional thematic or geographical data spaces are being developed, such as the European sectorial data spaces, the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem and Green Deal Data Space. These provide access to high-quality, interoperable data, through streamlined access, on-board processing and online visualization generating actionable knowledge and supporting more effective decision-making. These novel tools of this digital ecosystem create a vast range of opportunities for geoscience research, development and communication at local to global scale. Operational applications such as monitoring networks and early warning systems are built on top of these infrastructures, facilitating governance and sustainability in the face of global challenges. Worldwide satellite imagery data series can be accessed through API systems, creating analysis ready data for advanced machine learning applications. Put together, these advances in data availability, analysis tools and processing capacity are transformative for geoscience research. There is a growing demand for a deeper understanding of their design, establishment, integration, and evolution within the environmental and Earth sciences. As a geoscience community, it is imperative that we explore how data spaces can revolutionize our work and actively contribute to their development.

This session connects developers and users of the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem and other European satellite data infrastructures and Data Spaces, showing how data spaces facilitate the sharing, integration, and flexible processing of environmental and Earth system data from diverse sources. The speakers will discuss how ongoing efforts to build data spaces will connect with existing initiatives on data sharing and processing, and present examples of innovative services that can be developed using data spacess. By leveraging these cutting-edge tools within the digital ecosystem, the geoscience community will gain access to a vast range of opportunities for research, development, and communication at local and global scales.

After the PhD, a new challenge begins: finding a position where you can continue your research or a
job outside academia where you can apply your advanced skills. This task is not
always easy, and frequently a general overview of the available positions is missing. Furthermore,
in some divisions, up to 70% of PhD graduates will go into work outside of academia. There are many
different careers which require or benefit from a research background. But often, students and
early career scientists struggle to make the transition due to reduced support and networking.
In this panel discussion, scientists with a range of backgrounds give their advice on where to find
jobs, how to transition between academia and industry and what are the pros and cons of a career
inside and outside of academia.
In the final section of the short course, a Q+A will provide the audience with a chance to ask
their questions to the panel. This panel discussion is aimed at early career scientists but anyone
with an interest in a change of career will find it useful. An extension of this short course will
run in the networking and early career scientist lounge, for further in-depth or
one-on-one questions with panel members.

Networking is crucial for scientists of all career stages for collaborations as well as for their personal growth and career pathways. Your scientific network can offer valuable support in navigating the challenges of academic life, aiding in career decisions, and providing constructive input on job applications, proposals, and research papers. Not only that but also, a scientific network can offer fresh insights, open doors to interdisciplinary partnerships, and spark innovative projects.

Establishing an initial network can prove daunting, particularly when extending beyond the boundaries of your research institution. As scientific conferences and social media platforms are evolving, the possibilities of academic networking are also changing. In this short course, we will share tips and tricks on how to establish, grow and maintain your scientific network. Additionally, panellists will talk about their own personal experiences. In the latter part of this course, we will engage in a networking exercise to put theory into practice. This short course is relevant to scientists who are starting to build/grow their network or want to learn more about networking in today’s scientific settings.

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

Soil contamination caused by anthropogenic action is a problem that has been of concern to society for several decades. There are many implications that arise when these circumstances manifest themselves, such as the health of people, the continuity of ecosystems and biodiversity, legal implications and conditions for governance. The scientific community has been involved in the search for solutions and has carried out a large number of studies in all these areas, reaching a good level of knowledge of this problem, but characterisation studies have always predominated followed by remediation proposals.
Recently, (5 July 2023), the EU, as a consequence of the implementation of the EU Soil Strategy 2030, proposed a new Soil Monitoring Act to protect and restore soils and ensure their sustainable use. It is interlinked with the biodiversity strategy and the objectives of the European Green Pact. The new Soil Monitoring Law provides a legal framework to help achieve healthy soils by 2050, highlighting the identification and investigation of potentially contaminated sites and addressing the unacceptable risks to human health and the environment they may contain.
All of the above is part of the abundant reasons for reviewing the different aspects involved in the management of contaminated soils and the relevance of risk analysis as a tool and the different options that can be presented for the assessment of the results.

SSS7 – Soil Pollution and Reclamation