Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 1What is the IPCC?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988
jointly by the United Nations Environmental Panel and the World Meteorological Or-
ganization to address concerns about the possibility of global warming. The purpose
of the IPCC is the continued assessment of the state of knowledge on the various as-
pects of climate change, including scientific, environmental, and socioeconomic im-
pacts and response strategies. The IPCC does not undertake independent scientific re-
search, rather it brings together all key research published in the world and produces a
consensus. There have been five main IPCC Reports, in 1990, 1996, 2001, 2007, and
2013/14, and many individual specalized reports on such subjects as carbon emission
scenarios, alternative energy sources, and extreme weather events.
The IPCC is, thus, recognized as the most authoritative scientific and technical voice
on climate change, and its assessments have had a profound influence on the negotiat-
ors of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The IPCC is organized into three working groups plus a task force to calculate the
amount of GHGs produced by each country. Each of these four bodies has two co-
chairmen (one from a developed and one from a developing country) and a technical
support unit. Working Group I assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and
climate change; Working Group II addresses the vulnerability of human and natural
systems to climate change, the negative and positive consequences of climate change,
and options for adapting to them; and Working Group III assesses options for limiting
GHGs emissions and otherwise mitigating climate change, as well as economic issues.
Hence the IPCC also provides governments with scientific, technical, and socioeco-
nomic information relevant to evaluating the risks and to developing a response to
global climate change. The latest reports from these three working groups were pub-
lished in 2013 and 2014, with approximately 500 experts, from some 120 countries,
directly involved in drafting, revising, and finalizing the IPCC reports, as well as over
2,000 experts participating in the review process. The IPCC authors are always nomin-
ated by governments and international organizations, including non-governmental or-
ganizations. These reports are essential reading for anyone interested in global warm-
ing and are listed in the Further reading section at the end of the topic. In 2008, the
IPCC was jointly awarded, with Al Gore, the Nobel Peace Prize, to acknowledge all
the work the IPCC has done over the past 20 years.
