What is the IPCC?

The IPCC ? the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ? is the leading body for the assessment of climate change, established in 1988 by the United Nations to provide the world with a clear, balanced view of the present state of understanding of climate change. The background for its creation was the need for decision-makers and others interested in climate change to have an objective source of information about climate change.

As said on the IPCC homepage:

"The IPCC does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters. Its role is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change, its observed and projected impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. IPCC reports should be neutral with respect to policy, although they need to deal objectively with policy relevant scientific, technical and socio economic factors. They should be of high scientific and technical standards, and aim to reflect a range of views, expertise and wide geographical coverage."

The IPCC Secretariat is based in Geneva and is organized into three working groups and one task force. The first working group evaluates literature from natural science regarding climate and climate change. The second group is engaged in the repercussions of climate change and the possibilities of adapting to these, and the last group calculates the possible solutions to reducing the emission levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thereby preventing the worst case scenario for the climate change we are facing.

The IPCC has published four Assessment Reports, respectively in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2007, each consisting of results from the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. IPCC reports are written by teams of authors, nominated by governments and international organizations. They come from universities, research centres, business and environmental associations from all over the world. More than 800 contributing authors and more than 450 lead authors were involved in the writing of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007, and more than 2.500 scientific expert reviewers were involved in its the two-stage scientific and technical review process.

The scientific authors of the IPCC reports are all chosen because of their high-level scientific expertise. The IPCC reports are sent to specialists on climate change for review and additionally to government representatives from the member countries of the organizations. When governments accept the IPCC reports and approve their Summary for Policymakers, they acknowledge the legitimacy of their scientific content.

The Fourth Assessment Report has contributed to both the public and politicians gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the causes and effects of climate change. The report demonstrates that climate change is a reality today, and that the critically high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, notably CO₂ emissions, are caused by human activity

Overview of the four volumes of the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) (from www.ipcc.ch)

Working Group I Report, "The physical science basis", assesses the current state of knowledge about the natural and human drivers of climate change, reflecting the progress of the climate change science in the observation of the atmosphere, the Earth's surface and oceans. It provides a paleoclimatic perspective and evaluates future projections of climate change. Main topics include changes in atmospheric composition, observation of various climate parameters, coupling between changes in climate and biogeochemistry, evaluation of models and attribution of climate change.

Working Group II Report addresses "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability": It provides a detailed analysis of observed changes in natural and human systems and the relationship between those observed changes and climate change, as well as a detailed assessment of projected future vulnerability, impacts, and response measures to adapt to climatic changes for main sectors and regions.

Working Group III Report on "Mitigation of climate change" analyses mitigation options for the main sectors in the near term, addressing also cross sectorial matters such as synergies, co-benefits, trade-offs, and links with other policy objectives. It also provides information on long term mitigation strategies, for various stabilization levels, paying special attention to implications of different short-term strategies for achieving long-term goals.

AR4 "Synthesis Report" is an overall scientific view on climate change that integrates and synthesizes all information from the three volumes around 6 topics areas.

Read more about the IPCC here