GRC

The Union Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability (GRC) was established by the IUGG Bureau in August 2000 to study the interaction between hazards, their likelihood and their wider social consequences as a result of the vulnerability of societies. There is a growing interest and relevance in the interaction between science and society reflected in the economic, social and public-policy aspects of hazards.

This distinction is expressed by the word ‚risk‘ (which incorporates both hazards, their consequences and their likelihood), which covers a wider scope than the word ‚hazard‘. The main difference between geophysical hazard and geophysical risk is that consideration of the risk involves some consideration of the people who are at risk. GRC is maintained by all IUGG Associations.

The following scientific meetings on hazards, risks and sustainability were organized by GRC:
Budapest (Hungary, 2002), Stockholm (Sweden, 2004), Hyderabad (India, 2004), Baku (Azerbaijan, 2005), Munich (Germany, 2006), Perugia (Italy, 2007), Barcelona (2008), Oslo (2009), Turin (2010), Iguassu (2010), Pretoria (2011), and Melbourne (2011).
The first GRC Conference was held in Orange, California, USA in December 2012. The second GRC Concerence was held in Madrid, Spain in November 2014.