Adhoc Global Assessments Dialogue (AGAD)

The Adhoc Global Assessment Dialogue (AGAD) is an informal process that brings together the Heads of Secretariats and the Co-chairs of major global environmental assessments supported by the United Nations and its Member States. It leverages inputs from thousands of scientific authors and stakeholders, with the main objective of finding synergies and opportunities for coordination across major assessments.  

The process is not only informal but also technical in scope, reflecting the separate and independent governance systems, mandates, and work plans involved for each of the major global assessment processes—hence the ad hoc term.  

The dialogue also aims to serve as an informal mechanism to strengthen the voice of the scientific community and civil society and trigger science-based policy change and action for the urgent transformative change necessary to achieve sustainable development.  

The ongoing Adhoc Global Assessments Dialogue (AGAD) was first convened under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Chief Scientist in October 2018. Its mandate was also reinforced in 2019 through UNEA-4 Resolution 4/23 on keeping the world environment under review that requested the Executive Director of UNEP “to continue to promote greater coherence and coordination of global assessments undertaken within the United Nations system and in cooperation with relevant international bodies and the secretariats of the multilateral environmental agreements”.  

The first meeting was attended by Secretariats and Co-chairs of GEO, the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the International Resource Panel (IRP).  The second meeting was held during the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly in March 2019, where the production of the “Making Peace with Nature” report was first discussed. The outcomes of this meeting served as an input to EA.4/RES.23, specifically paragraphs 7 and 10.   

In July 2020, a new round of consultations brought together a larger number of assessments to represent the varied assessment landscape. This also allows the AGAD to consider various environmental issues and related scientific assessment processes. 

Since then, the AGAD met on a quarterly basis to discuss issues related to coherence and synergy among assessments, including:

1. Peer-review processes: how to streamline peer-review processes, including digital platforms such as the GEO Review Editors Analytical Database (READ)
2. Modelling and scenario development: the importance of modelling and scenario in assessment processes.
3. Digital platforms to support assessments: how digital tools can help with the development of assessment, e.g. collaborative drafting, peer-review, glossaries, presentation of results and key messages.
4. The use of Artificial Intelligence in assessment processes: how to ensure the correct use of AI in the development of assessments.
5. Opportunities for joint outreach: events were jointly organized by the participants of the AGAD at different fora.
6. Presentations of key reports: participants presents their work in Q&A sessions.

A list of partners engaged in the dialogue to date includes:    

• GEO-7 Secretariat and co-Chairs  
• IPCC Secretariat and co-chairs of all thematic working groups  
• IPBES Secretariat and co-Chairs  
• Chemicals Outlook team at the UNEP Chemicals Branch in Geneva  
• Waste Management Outlook Secretariat at the International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) in Japan  
• Global Land Outlook team of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and UNCCD Chief Scientist  
• Global Sustainable Development Report of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in UN New York
• IRP Secretariat and co-Chairs  
• Global Biodiversity Outlook at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat and CBD Chief Scientist  
• The Ozone Assessments Panels under the Montreal Protocol Secretariat and its co-Chairs
• The Human Development Report  
• The World Water Quality Alliance 
• The Science Policy Panel on sound management of chemicals and waste 
• The Secretariat (based at the European Environment Agency) of the SOER, European Environment – State and Outlook 
• Intergovernmental Negotiating committee (INC) on Plastics
•  UN Disaster Risk Reductions Global Assessment Report on disaster risk reduction Secretariat

For further information on the AGAD process, ignacio.sanchez@un.org and adele.roccato@un.org 

This project is co-funded by the European Union.