The Special Report on Managing the risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX), was approved by the 195 member state governments of the IPCC in Kampala at the end of last year. Thefull report has recently been published and following this publication the IPCC is holding an event to present and discuss the report in Brussels.It is well known that extreme weather and climate events can lead to disasters when they interact with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems. This special report explores the social as well as the physical dimensions of weather and climate related disasters. It considers opportunities for managing risks at local and international scales.The Brussels launch will be chaired by Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele (Vice-Chair of the IPCC and Professor of Climate and Environmental Sciences at UCL Belgium) and will include a presentation by Professor Chris Field (Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II, which together with IPCC WG I, authored the report).The launch will feature keynote speeches by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri (Chair of the IPCC), Connie Hedegaard (EU Commissioner for Climate Action), Kristalina Georgieva (EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response) and Margareta Wahlström (Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction). The launch of the report will be followed by a panel debate with Professor Chris Field, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Margareta Wahlström, John Coomber (Board Member of Swiss Re and Chairman of ClimateWise) and Jamie Shea (Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Emerging Security Challenges, NATO).