The scientific community is concerned that the negotiations taking place in Copenhagen in December are not based on scientific realities.
The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the most influential scientific body on climate change, is already two years old. Since then, studies have shown that global warming is progressing faster than previously assumed and its impact could be much more devastating.
The conference, set to take place in the Danish capital on 10-12 March, aims to give a comprehensive picture of climate research carried out in the past two years. It presents new findings on sea-level change and tipping points, for example.
The conclusions will be condensed into about five "rather poignant" messages to the Copenhagen climate change conference (COP 15). The Danish government has agreed to hand these to all policymakers at the conference.
"This is not a regular scientific conference. This is a deliberate attempt to influence policy," Katherine Richardson, a marine biologist at the University of Copenhagen, told the Guardian newspaper.
Summit participants represent the whole spectrum of research into climate change, including natural sciences, economics and social sciences. Adding emerging scientific knowledge to established reports, scientists hope to provide a basis for "intelligent societal decisions" on effective climate-change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
A major topic to be discussed is whether limiting global warming to 2°C is still feasible. The IPPC and the EU deem this to be the maximum temperature at which the consequences of climate change are still reversible. In addition, a balance between adaptation and mitigation matters needs to be found.
The conference is hosted by the University of Copenhagen in collaboration with nine other universities. Among the speakers are Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, Lord Nicholas Stern and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who will attend alongside the cream of the scientific community.
The organisers stress that the intention is not to push aside the IPPC. Rather, the summit will build on the IPPC's work by acknowledging that there are many research areas that must be updated.
The EU is currently engrossed in talks over its negotiating position for the December talks in Copenhagen. The main points to be agreed upon are criteria for calculating the emissions reductions required of each country, and financial assistance offered to developing countries to support their efforts (EurActiv 27/02/09).
Consensus on financing for the agreement has been slow to emerge, with many member states arguing that it is not yet time for the EU to lay all its cards on the table (EurActiv 03/03/09).
