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Important climate (modeling) conferences until 1990 (selection)

(For an annotated chronology of the history of climate change science see also: http://history.aip.org/climate/timeline.htm)

  • 1953 (9-15 Sept.): Toronto Meteorological Conference (including a discussion on climatic change (Gordon Manley) and a panel on microclimatology (Helmut Landsberg)) [1]
  • 1956 (May): International Symposium on Numerical Weather Prediction, Frankfurt, Germany (over 50 participants from 11 European countries and USA) [2]
  • 1962 (14 March): Lecture on the 100th Anniversary of Vilhelm Bjerknes’ Birthday, University of Bergen, Norway, on the occasion of Bjerknes’ 100th birthday [3]
  • 1965 (Aug., more than 30 days): Study session of the Panel on Weather and Climate Modification, Woods Hole, Massachusetts (only American associates) [4]
  • 1965 (30-31 Aug.): Conference on Causes of Climatic Change, Boulder, Colorado, USA [5]
  • 1968: Conference “Global Effects of Environmental Pollution”, Dallas, Texas [6] (“pathbreaking symposium” Weart 2012) [7])
  • 1969: WMO commission for climatology set up a working group on climate forecast
  • 1970 (Aug.?): “Study of Critical Environmental Problems (SCEP)”, MIT, Massachusetts (primarily American) [8]
  • 1971: “Study of Man’s Impact on Climate (SMIC)”, Stockholm, preparation for the 1972 Stockholm UN conference [9]
  • 1971 (27 June-3 July): 1st International Conference on Environmental Future, Helsinki [10]
  • 1972 (5-16 June): United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm (consequence: introduction of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) [11]
  • 1974 (5-16 Nov.): UN World Food Conference, Rome, Italy (discussing the global food production in light of the devastating climate events destroying harvest globally) [12]
  • 1977 (5-11 June): Reykjavik 2nd Conference on the Environmental Future, "The Independent Forum for Global Survival" [13]
  • 1978 (24-28 April): International Workshop on Climate Issues (WMO, ICSU and UNEP), IIASA Laxenburg, Austria [14] (preparation for Geneva World Climate Conference)
  • 1979 (12-23 Feb.): (First) World Climate Conference, Geneva, Switzerland [15]
  • 1978-1979: First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE): global observations for standardised weather data around the globe in uniform grid; important for climate modelling
  • 1979: Establishment of World Climate Programme by WMO and ICSU
  • 1983: Organisation of International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), starting 1986 (climate not on top of agenda)
  • 1985: Villach conference ("historic turning point" (Weart 2012) [16], experts from 29 countries, forming of an international climate science community) [17]
  • 1986: Advisory Group on Greenhous Gases (AGGG), until ca. 1988
  • 1987 (Sept.): Montreal Conference (UN), Canada ("only" 60 delegates, protocol for emission restrictions reg. protection of ozone layer à Montreal Protocol [18] (reduction of ozone hole by banning chlorofluaracarbon (CFC) by 2000/2010)
  • 1988 (27-30 June): World Conference on the Changing Atmosphere: Implications for Global Security, Toronto, Canada ("Toronto Conference"), organized by WMO, UNEP and Canadian government (reduction of global CO2 emissions by 20% by 2005) [19]
  • 1988: Creation of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by WMO and UNEP
  • 1990 (27-29 June): Second Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer [20]

 

[1]    “Proceedings of the Toronto Meteorological Conference, 1953” (1954), London: Royal Meteorological Society.

[2]    Symposium über numerische Wettervorhersage in Frankfurt am Main vom 23. bis 28. Mai 1956 (1957). Berichte des Deutschen Wetterdienstes vol. 38. Offenbach am Main: Deutscher Wetterdienst.

[3]    Bergeron, Tor 1962: Vilhelm Bjerknes. Festforelesning ved universitetet I Bergen på hundreårsdagen for hans födsel 14 mars 1962 (Universitetet i Bergen, Småskrifter). Bergen/Oslo: Norvegian University Press.

[4]    Weather and Climate Modification: Problems and Prospects, vol. II: Research and Development. Final Report of the Panel on Weather and Climate Modification (1966). National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council.

[5]    Murray Mitchell, J. Jr. 1968: Causes of Climatic Change. A collection of papers derived from the INQUA-NCAR symposium on causes of climatic change, August 30-31, 1965, NCAR Boulder, Colorado. Boston, Massachusetts; Weart, Spencer R. 2003: The Discovery of Global Warming. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp. 39-40.

[6]    Singer, S. Fred 1968: “Global Effects of Environmental Pollution, 26-27 December 1968, Dallas, Texas”, Science 162:3859, p. 1308; Singer, S. Fred 1970: Global Effects of Environmental Pollution. A Symposium Organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science Held in Dallas, Texas, Dec. 1968. New York: Springer.

[7]    Weart, Spencer R. (2012). The Evolution of International Cooperation in Climate Science. Journal of International Organization Studies, Nr. 3, 1. S. 41-59.

[8]    Man's Impact On The Global Environment, Assessment and Recommendations for Action. Study Of Critical Environmental Problems (SCEP) (1970). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

[9]    Wilson, C. L. and W. H. Matthews (eds.) 1971: Inadvertent Climate Modification: Report of Conference, Study of Man’s Impact on Climate (SMIC), Stockholm. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

[10] Polunin, Nicholas and Ulrich E. Loening 1987: “International Conferences on Environmental Future“, Environmental Conservation 14:1, p. 6.

[11] Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, United Nations Report A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1, New York: United Nations (1972).

[12] World Food Conference, Rome, 5-16 Nov. 1974. Communication from the Commission to the Council (1974). Brussels: Commission of the European Communities.

[13] Polunin, Nicholas (ed.) 1980: Growth without Ecodisasters? Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Environmental Future (2nd ICEF) held in Reykjavik, Iceland, 5-11 June 1977. London: Macmillan; Goldsmith, Edward 1977: “The Reykjavik Conference on the Environmental Future”, The Ecologist 7:6, pp. 206-209.

[14] International Perspectives on the Study of Climate and Society: Report of the International Workshop on Climate Issues, Schloss Laxenburg, Austria, April 24-28, 1978 (1978). Washinton D.C.: National Academy of Science.

[15] Proceedings of the World Climate Conference, Geneva, 12-23 February 1979, WMO Publication No. 537. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization.

[16] Weart, Spencer R. (2012). The Evolution of International Cooperation in Climate Science. Journal of International Organization Studies, Nr. 3, 1. S. 41-59.

[17] Bolin, Bert, I. Jäger and B.R. Döös 1986: “The Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change and Ecosystems”, in: Bert Bolin, B., B.R Döös, I. Jäger and R.A. Warrick: The Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change and Ecosystems, SCOPE 29, 1-32. Chichester: Wiley & Sons.

[18] Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (with annex), concluded at Montreal on 16 September 1987. United National Treaty Series Bd. 1522, I-26369.

[19] Hare, Kenneth F. 1988: “World Conference on the Changing Atmosphere: Implications for Security, held at the Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during 27–30 June 1988”, Environmental Conservation 15:3, pp. 282-283.

[20] Report of the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Montral Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 1990, UN Environment Programme (Agenda Item 7), UN Doc. UNEP/OzL.Pro. 2/3, Annex II.

Revised 17.04.2023