DEFRA is currently supporting the preparations for the seventh Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), the United Nations Environment Programme’s flagship scientific assessment. This report is produced every 4 years and follows a similar process to IPBES and IPCC, but it encompasses a much broader range of environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and land degradation.
Applications are now open for experts to conduct the assessment, with various roles available including:
- Coordinating Lead Authors (CLAs) will manage writing teams for each chapter of GEO-7 and ensure the scientific credibility and technical accuracy of the section and/or chapter they are responsible for. The skills and resources required of CLAs are similar to lead authors, but also include the additional organisation skills needed to coordinate a section, or sections, of a report.
- Lead Authors (LAs) will produce designated sections or parts of chapter that respond to the annotated outline of GEO-7 on the basis of the best scientific, technical and socioeconomic information available.
- Review Editors will assist the GEO Secretariat and advisory bodies in identifying reviewers for the expert review processes, ensure that all substantive expert and government peer review comments are afforded appropriate consideration, advise lead authors on how to handle contentious or controversial issues and ensure that genuine controversies identified in the peer review comments are adequately reflected in the text of the report.
- Fellows will play an important role in developing a successful and effective global assessment and contribute to the scientific integrity of the process including by conducting research for specific sections of the global assessment and assisting authors where needed.
Experts should be available to participate in the GEO-7 process over the entire period of its preparation and finalisation, likely to be until the end of 2025. The first authors meeting is scheduled for 13-17 March 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. Nominated experts should be able to attend this important inaugural meeting. In order to apply you must be a UK citizen or based at a UK institution.
The applications should consist of a CV and a one-page covering letter addressing how you would be suited for the role. It should also include the role you would be most interested in, your areas of expertise and a contact address.
Areas of expertise that are being sought, include:
- Biodiversity
- Land and Soil
- Oceans and Coasts
- Freshwater
- Climate change
- Biodiversity and nature loss
- Pollution and waste
- Land degradation
- Policy and political economy analysis
- Policy development
- Policy effectiveness
- State and evolution of technological change
- Digital data management and display
- Mapping and geographical information systems
- Citizen science
Applications should be sent to emma.hutchinson@defra.gov.uk by midnight 8 January 2023. Applications will be assessed by 15 January 2023.