AR6 WGI Chapter Scientists Feedback Survey Report

Chapter Scientists (CS) play essential roles in the IPCC report drafting process. The CS role is usually undertaken by an early career scientist who supports a specific chapter, assisting on more technical tasks such as document and citation management and figure development. The Working Group I Technical Support Unit (WGI TSU) undertook a short feedback survey to gather the views and experiences from the WGI AR6 CSs. The survey responses show that the CS role is a unique opportunity for early career scientists to gain experience and knowledge of the IPCC process and of the latest climate change research, however the workload is often overburdened with junior scientists taking on more responsibilities than previously expected and sometimes with resulting ethics of authorship / acknowledgement issues in the author team. In this report, the WGI TSU and Bureau provides some recommendations for future IPCC cycles to improve the CS role within the Working Group I assessment process, including updated Terms of References on the role and its expectations. A unified approach to this role across the Working Groups is recommended to the IPCC.