UN Conference on Climate Change (COP15)

Copenhagen, Denmark, 10.-12.03.2009

The Danish Government as host of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP15) to be held in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 supports this Congress organised by IARU as part of the run-up to the COP 15. The purpose of the congress is to try and capture some of the enormous research energy currently being devoted to the elucidation, mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Thus, the focus of the congress is on providing a picture of the "big issues" that the scientific community feels it is necessary that policy makers are aware of in order to make enlightened decisions with respect to the balancing of adaptation and mitigation in the societal response to climate change. 

All findings will be compiled in a book on climate change, and an executive summary with the main findings from the congress will, after agreement with the Danish Government, which is hosting the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP15) be handed over to policy makers at the COP15 in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.

About the Congress 

The University of Copenhagen is hosting an international scientific congress on climate change under the heading "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions", 10-12 March 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The congress is organised in cooperation with nine other universities in the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU).

The main aim of the congress is to provide a synthesis of existing and emerging scientific knowledge necessary in order to make intelligent societal decisions concerning application of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change.

The congress aims to identify and synthesise the science, technology and policy advances required in order to ensure sustainability of global communities in the current and coming decades.

The findings of the congress will be supplementary to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The congress will provide a summary of existing scientific knowledge two years after the last IPCC report.

Output of the Congress

The congress takes place in the run-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-15) in Copenhagen in November-December 2009. All findings will be compiled in a book on climate change, and an excecutive summary with the main findings will be handed over to policy makers at the COP15. 

Call for Abstracts

We still accept abstracts and registrations to fill up available places. Submit your abstract and registration a.s.a.p. and not later than 1st of November, 2008. You may also contact the session chair directly to get further information about your session of interest.

Please submit your abstract here

Here you can download descriptions of sessions and bios of session chairs

Session chairs have been encouraged to contact relevant peer reviewed scientific jounals with the proposition of having a dedicated special issue to their sessions in which the selected abstracts and papers will be publicized.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS

Abstracts can only be submitted on-line.

Abstracts describing original research into topics relevant to the themes being treated at the Congress are invited. 

Members of the Scientific Steering Committee will review all abstracts

1. Abstracts must be submitted in English
2. Titles should be entered in the "Title Field" (not as part of the abstract) and should contain no more than 20 words or 100 numbers characters including space.
3. Please remember to identify the session(s) to which you are submitting your abstract.
4. Abstract text should be entered in the "Abstract Text Field" and should be max 2 A4-pages, inclusive figures, tables and references.
5. Any tables, graphs or diagrams should be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . marked with name, abstract title and abstract reference number which is stated in the confirmation e-mail.
6. Authors' names and institutions should be entered in the appropriate fields. The following data is needed for the "Institution Field" - Name of the Institution, Department, City and Country.
7. The abstract should be informative, containing: a) a summary of the study's objectives; b) a brief statement of methods if relevant; c) a summary of the results obtained and d) a statement of the conclusions reached.
8. If references are used, they should be included in the abstract texts as: authors, journal, year, volume, and pages.
9. All text should be single spaced. Do not leave blank lines. Use standard abbreviations. Place a special or unusual abbreviation in parenthesis after the full word the first time it appears.

Abstracts that do not conform to the above guidelines, will not be considered.