The Kigali Declaration, one of the biggest outcomes of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)’s Open Science Conference 2023, calls for immediate climate action, amplification of the relevance and benefits of climate research to society, and increased accessible and equitable investments towards climate mitigation.
With 734 signatories, majority of whom were conference participants, the Declaration is the collective voice of the participants of the Open Science Conference. The aim of the conference was to discuss the present state and the future evolution of climate science, and the actions urgently required to mitigate against and adapt to climate change. The participants acknowledged that human-induced climate change and other human impacts on the environment are among the major reasons behind the polycrises and rising inequalities currently faced by the world.
Adding that the failure to limit global warming is one of the greatest threats to humanity, the Kigali Declaration issues three calls for action:
- A call upon the global community to urgently act now to address climate change;
- A call upon the climate science community to accelerate and amplify the relevance, impact and benefit of its research for science and society, enabling transformative actions; and
- A call upon agencies, governments, and the private sector to substantially increase their multilateral, accessible and equitable investment in the development of actionable climate information, and the implementation of climate adaptation options and loss and damage assessments founded on climate science.
The Declaration also includes a Science Supplement that dives into the discussions from every session of the conference.
The five-day conference attracted over 1400 participants, online and onsite, including leading climate scientists, policy practitioners, social science researchers, and politicians. Additionally, early and mid-career researchers had an exclusive symposium spread over two days to discuss a path forward for an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and sustainable future for the planet.
Read the Kigali Declaration here.
4 April 2024 - Kigali Declaration: Climate science for a sustainable future for all - WMO
29 February 2024 - Kigali Declaration calls for more urgent climate action - WMO