During the three months Jessica spent at the United Nations Foundation (UNF), she contributed to the coordination of the international scientific research communities as they defined a new approach to future scenario development.

Her preparations for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) mandated 'expert meeting on new scenarios' began at the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) hosted by Stanford's John Weyant and Jim Sweeny. UNF's Richard Moss led members from the three main research communities (ESM, IAM, IAV)* and the greater user community through a trial presentation of a new parallel modeling/scenario development process. The proposed new scenario development process, including lessons learned from the EMF experience, was described in a background document, 'Towards New Scenarios for Analysis of Emissions, Climate Change, Impacts, and Response Strategies and its appendix.'

At the IPCC expert meeting on new emissions scenarios, the background document provided a framework for both discussion and consensus building between the major research groups and other users. The meeting's objective (which was met) was to agree on the Representative Concentration Pathways and to outline a coordinated approach to new scenario development.

The information captured in these expert reports defines a new process of scenario development outside the traditional realm guided by the IPCC. The novel Representation Concentration Pathways (RCPs) span the high to low range of climate forcings described in the literature. The suite of climate and new socio-economic outputs spanning the range of RCP climate forcings will facilitate a new wave of impacts/adaptation/vulnerability/mitigation in preparation for a possible IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.

• ESM: Earth System Modeling, IAM: Integrated Assessment Modeling, IAV: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Modeling.

"My Fellowship experience at UNF exceeded my expectations in many ways. The caliber of expertise driving the Energy Future Coalition, the mentorship of Richard Moss and the junior energy team, the opportunity to become an integral part of project, all contributed to a truly positive experience."

"The fellows bring fairly advanced skill sets that are valuable to the Foundation. Our organization also offers an opportunity to engage in sophisticated work that involves both technical and policy oriented projects."