Understanding and sharing knowledge about existing and emerging risks is key to insurance, to help improve society� resilience and build up risk management capacity.

This is why through the AXA Research Fund, the science philanthropic initiative of the Group, AXA has notably supported globally 150 fundamental research projects to understand and better prevent climate and environmental risks, with a planned total commitment of EUR 35 million by 2018 on those specific issues.

In the run up to the Paris conference, the AXA Research Fund� first launched in December 2014 the �Voice of Researchers on Climate Risks�: a month-long consultation of the AXA-supported scientists, to know their thoughts, and ongoing and/or planned contributions to the discussions around Climate and Environmental Risks.

Secondly, on April 2nd, the AXA Research Fund organized a series of multi-stakeholder workshops on six topics related to climate change that came out of the survey as of critical importance to the scientific community. More than sixty participants including researchers, AXA experts, students involved in the Sciences Po Paris� �Make It Work� initiative (http://www.cop21makeitwork.com) and civil society representatives were invited to join the discussions, with the aim of both identifying continuing problems in climate-change research, and searching together for constructive solutions to them. The overarching goal was to try and foster the role and commitment of science to the Climate Change debate.

In the spirit of the Common Future Conference, a third session, potentially on July 8th, will gather again some of the April 2nd workshop's participants. AXA-supported researchers attending the Common Future conference will be involved, along with students, AXA experts, media and civil society representatives. Building on everybody's recent experiences (Common Future, Make It Work etc.), participants will explore and go back on the proposals and key recommendations issued by the six panels of April 2nd:

• How to improve transversal initiatives using network effects
• The reliability of scientific data and what needs to improve it
• How to construct more useful climate models
• How to refocus the public debate at a time of skepticism and climate change �fatigue�
• How to overcome silo thinking in the scientific community itself
• How to improve the evaluation of public policy initiatives relating to climate change.
  

The results of those sessions will be disseminated through AXA-owned platforms and throughout research and expert communities.

The idea is to help inform public discussions and multi-stakeholder dialogues about climate change in the run-up to the Paris conference, but also to stimulate further actions by the scientific community to bring about change.

Promoting the voice of researchers is particularly critical in the current negotiations on climate change, as solid elements of proof are a critical building block towards reaching global agreements.

This side event is part of a broader, ongoing communication and engagement effort supported by AXA and the AXA Research Fund that are aimed at highlighting the important role of scientific researchers in the public debate, before, during and beyond the COP21 Paris conference.