Portal U de A

By: Carlos Olimpo Restrepo S. Journalist at UdeA Communications Department  

Paola Andrea Arias Gómez, PhD in Earth Sciences, and Juan Camilo Villegas Palacio, PhD in Natural Resources, professors and researchers at Universidad de Antioquia, were chosen to join the group of experts from different countries around the world who will prepare the seventh global report on climate change, which must be presented in 2028. Universidad de Antioquia is the only institution in Colombia with two representatives in this international forum created by the UN and key to shaping global policies on global warming. 

Paola Arias Gómez and Juan Camilo Villegas Palacio have a long and distinguished research career, which led the IPCC to select them as members of the group of scientists from around the globe who will produce the seventh global report on climate change. Photo: UdeA Communications Department / Alejandra Uribe F 
 
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) appointed Paola Andrea Arias Gómez and Juan Camilo Villegas Palacio to be part of the three working groups, made up of scientists from different countries around the world, that will prepare the seventh report, due in 2028, of this United Nations (UN) forum. The two researchers and professors from the Environmental School, attached to UdeA’s Faculty of Engineering, are in charge of leading the conversation and writing two chapters. 

For the seventh report, the IPCC Steering Committee members decided to maintain the group structure from the previous report, published in March 2023, and the same researcher categories: "coordinating lead authors" (the role of Arias Gómez and Villegas Palacio), "lead authors," and "review editors." For this report, the number of members in each team was increased to ensure greater representation by geographic area and a better gender balance. 

Working Group I assesses the physical aspects of the climate system and climate change, Working Group II studies the impacts of, and adaptation and vulnerability to, climate change, and Working Group III assesses climate change mitigation. 

Both Paola Arias Gómez and Juan Camilo Villegas Palacio are recognized in Colombia and abroad for their research related to climate, vegetation and the environment, which led them to be nominated by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), on behalf of the Colombian Government, to participate in the seventh evaluation cycle of the IPCC. Both were selected as coordinating lead authors in two chapters of working groups I and II, respectively. 

Researcher Juan Camilo Villegas Palacio is participating for the first time, and he will do so as coordinating lead author, at this international forum, whose reports are the UN General Assembly's primary tool for shaping global policies on global warming. 

"One is part of a group of researchers within a work circle. In my case, the research I direct as coordinator of Universidad de Antioquia’s Applied Ecology Research Group, and other research work, has international recognition, which was probably considered when including me in this report," said the professor. He added, "This is further proof that the research we do at Universidad de Antioquia is part of the international scientific dialogue." 

Villegas Palacio’s main challenge, and that of the other scientists who will participate in the preparation of the seventh report, "is to translate scientific evidence into clear and useful messages for decision-makers. Science often remains in the academic sphere, and we need it to reach public policy and society." 

Scientist Paola Arias is already an expert in this global forum, since she participated in Working Group I of the sixth IPCC report in 2018 as lead author of the chapter that focused on the water cycle. She was also a review editor of the sixth assessment synthesis report. 

"This recognition is very important for the science we do in Colombia. It allows us to share information about our tropical ecosystems, which are especially sensitive to temperature variations and land-use changes," emphasized Professor Arias Gómez, who noted that these ecosystems play a key role in global climate balance and, therefore, "their representation is essential in the panel's reports." 

She asserted that the selection of her and Villegas is also a form of recognition for the country's universities and research groups, "which, despite resource limitations, continue to produce valuable and relevant knowledge for the world." 

"Furthermore, it's an opportunity to show that the research we do here can have an impact beyond the academic sphere and reach public policy and society," highlighted Paola Arias, of UdeA’s Environmental Engineering and Management Group (GIGA). 

For this professor, who until recently was the only Colombian female scientist at the IPCC, the main challenge for researchers in the seventh report will be "translating scientific results in a way that can be used to generate mitigation and adaptation strategies." 

The creation of the IPCC was welcomed by the UN General Assembly in 1988 after the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) conceived the creation of a body that could offer the world a clear scientific view of the current state of knowledge on climate change and its environmental and socio-economic repercussions.