International action - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The IPCC - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess the scientific and technical aspects of climate change.
The IPCC adopted the Synthesis Report of its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on climate change at its 27th plenary session, 12-17th November 2007 in Valencia. This included the release on the 17th November 2007 of the Summary for Policy Makers. This report represents the final step in integrating and presenting the comprehensive scientific information contained in the three volumes released earlier this year by its three working groups on the physical science basis, impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities, and Mitigation of Climate Change.
The Synthesis Report is made of six topics in addition to the Summary for Policy Makers:
- Observed changes and effect,
- Causes of changes,
- Climate change and its impacts in the near and long term under different scenarios,
- Adaptation and mitigation options and responses and the inter-relationship with sustainable development,
- Long-term perspective,
- Robust findings, key uncertainties.
The Summary for Policy Makers is now available on the IPCC website, www.ipcc.ch. A Defra news release has been issued.
The three previous IPCC working group reports released earlier this year on science, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation can be found at: www.ipcc.ch.
The IPCC AR4 provides a strong basis for progress during the United Nation Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in Bali, 3-14th December 2007 and provides a clear basis for urgent actions. The recent joint award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC has raised the profile and underlines the implications of Climate Change for overall peace and security.
Background
The IPCC is sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). It has become the most comprehensive and authoritative source of material on climate change involving the participation of thousands of scientists from around the world and a long and open review process.
Since its establishment in 1988, the IPCC has produced a series of publications, which have become standard works of reference. The objectivity of the assessment process is ensured by the broad and open review process and shared responsibility. The IPCC does not carry out research. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature. The reports and technical summaries are prepared wholly by the scientists from all regions of the world. More information on the IPCC and its publications can be found at www.ipcc.ch.
The Panel meets in plenary sessions, at which it decides on the scope and structure of forthcoming reports and activities, approves and adopts finished reports, and consider logistical matters regarding the running of the IPCC. The last (27th) IPCC plenary session took place on 12-17th November 2007.
The six years since the IPCC’s Third Assessment Report (TAR) in 2001 have seen significant progress in understanding past and recent climate change and in projecting future changes, timing and magnitude of impacts and risks related to differing amounts and rates of climate change, enabling a stronger assessment of the key vulnerabilities. The AR4 discusses all relevant aspects of mitigation, including multi-gas stabilisation, sectoral options, technology, cost, policies etc., to provide the user with a comprehensive overview of how to achieve deep cuts in emissions.
On 12 October 2007, the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with former US Vice-President Al Gore. The Nobel Committee awarded the prize “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.” The award is due to be presented to the winners in Oslo, Norway, on 10 December 2007.
UK’s involvement
The UK fully supports the work of the IPCC and regards its assessment as providing the most authoritative view of climate change. The IPCC assessments have fully informed the development of domestic climate policy and the UK position in international climate negotiations.
The UK plays a significant role in the IPCC. Hundreds of UK scientists were involved in the preparation of the Fourth Assessment Report and Defra supports lead authors and review editors to participate in IPCC writing groups.
The UK Government provides financial support to Professor Martin Parry, who co-chairs the IPCC Working Group II (WGII) on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, and the WGII Technical Unit, which supports Prof. Parry in this role. Previously Defra funded the TSU for Working Group I on the physical basis of climate change, which Sir John Houghton co-chaired for fourteen years. The UK government has also been supporting the head of the technical unit responsible for production of the Synthesis Report.
Links
Page last modified: 20 November, 2007
Page published: 01 December, 2005