I N T E R N AT I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E A N N O U N C E M E N T

LIVING WITH
CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE:
UNDERSTANDING THE UNCERTAINTIES AND
MANAGING THE RISKS
E S P O O , F I N L A N D 1 7 - 2 1 J U LY 2 0 0 6

Climate
cannot be taken for granted -
societies are becoming increasingly
interdependent - the climate system Conference keynote speaker
is changing - losses associated with Jeffrey D. Sachs, Special Advisor to
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
climatic hazards are rising.

CO-SPONSORS
Finnish Meteorological Institute World Meteorological Organization International Research Institute for Climate and Society
 International Conference, Espoo, Finland, 17 – 21 July 2006
LIVING WITH CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE:
Understanding the uncertainties and managing the risks

CLIMATE CANNOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. THREE FACTORS ARE INCREASINGLY DRAWING ATTENTION
TO THE NEED FOR MORE URGENT AND PURPOSEFUL ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CONDITIONS AND MANAGEMENT
OF CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS: SOCIETIES ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY INTERDEPENDENT; THE CLIMATE
SYSTEM IS CHANGING; AND LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATIC HAZARDS ARE RISING.

The conference will review opportunities and constraints
in integrating climate risks and uncertainties into the
mainstreams of decision-making where sensitivity to
climate variability and change is but one among many
factors to consider. It will draw on the experiences of
public and private organizations worldwide that have
been engaged in managing risks including those of a
climatic origin.
The focus of the conference, therefore, is on decision-
processes in real-world contexts, including agriculture,
water resource management, disease control, power
generation and disaster mitigation, where climate is
one of the factors to be considered. Sessions will focus
on generalized decision-processes, including principles
of risk assessment and management within broader
institutional and policy frameworks. These discussions
will place into context previous efforts at incorporating
information including climate information into
decision-making, with the presentation of both
experimental and operational examples.
The goal of the conference is to make substantial
progress in the establishment of an operable agenda
for climate related risk management, and to propose
an enduring process for future work. Specific expected
outcomes include:
1. A review and synthesis of efforts to date in the
management of risk across social, environmental and
economic planning, encompassing all planning
horizons;
2. Recommendations on data and information
requirements to enable societies to assess and manage
risk across multiple planning horizons and spatial scales;
3. An examination of how people become aware of the
need to incorporate or improve on their management
of the risks associated with climate variability and
change (in the context of capacity constraints and
competing priorities), and a critical assessment the
role of climate information in supporting overall
risk management;
4. Recommendations on research and operational
requirements for reducing risks through the
establishment of appropriate early warning systems;
5. A review of the theory, practical techniques and
challenges associated with the integration and
blending of cross-disciplinary data and information
for planning, decision making, and managing risks;
6. Specific plans for enhancing the exchange of
knowledge on methods and benefits of integrating
climate information into decision making;
7. Production of a report on the above;
8. Agreement on a process for better promotion of the
systematic integration of climate information into
development planning at international, regional and
national scales.
The conference will feature state-of-the-art research on
complex decision-making theory and practice, and on
the incorporation of climate knowledge and information
into decision-making in sectors, directly or indirectly
sensitive to climate variability and change. For this
purpose, the conference will embrace the physical,
natural, and social disciplines; it will thus provide an
excellent opportunity for professionals in business, science
and the public sector to interact on a broad range of
topics of mutual concern.The conference also will
contribute to the ongoing effort to achieve the
international development goals established under the
2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration.

http://www.livingwithclimate.fi
wmo2006@fmi.fi (expressions of interest & general inquiries);
wmo2006.exh@fmi.fi (exhibition matters)