Joint Scientific Advisory Panel and Review Editors Meeting for the Sixth Global Environment Outlook

The Joint Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) and Review Editors Meeting of the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) was held from 7-11 October 2018 at the Cairo Marriot Hotel, Egypt.

Review Editor’s meeting objectives:

1. Highlight main issues/ comments raised by governments and main stakeholders in the first, second and third order reviews;
2. Assess how well the review comments were dealt with during the final technical and the intergovernmental review;
3. Prepare a third order draft Review Editor’s report for the sixth Global Environment Outlook for presentation to the Scientific Advisory Panel;
4. Inform the Scientific Advisory Panel on the rigour and management of the peer review workflows for the sixth Global Environment Outlook;
5. Identify improvements in the future Global Environment Outlook assessments regarding the process of peer review, including the work of the review editors;

Scientific Advisory Panel’s meeting objectives:

Guidance to the Review Editors

1. To provide advice to the Review Editor’s team regarding the main issues arising from the third order draft review;
2. To comment on the robustness of the peer review process, provide guidance on the key issues raised in the third order draft peer review report and recommend improvements for remaining Global Environment Outlook peer review processes;

Ensuring the scientific credibility of the Global Environment Outlook process

3. To establish the effectiveness of addressing the recommendations and decisions of the Scientific Advisory Panel by the secretariat and experts;
4. To discuss and agree on the criteria for decision making on the scientific integrity of the Global Environment Outlook process;
5. To discuss and evaluate the scientific integrity of the Global Environment Outlook process;
6. To draft the Scientific Advisory Panel opinion on the scientific integrity of the Global Environment Outlook process;

Future GEOs and other assessment processes

7. To recommend improvements for the overall Global Environment Outlook process for consideration in future assessments; and
8. To identify the future of a Scientific Advisory Panel for the Global Environment Outlook and other major UN Environment assessments.