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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 is now available on the IPCC website.

In recognising the growing problem of global climate change, the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988.

The role of the IPCC is to assess what we know about the climate system, the impacts of climate change and possible ways forward. It does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate-related data or other relevant parameters.

The IPCC brings the world’s leading experts together, including those with unorthodox or sceptical views, to assess the current state of knowledge across the international scientific literature. Its reports involve a multiple review process to ensure they are balanced, cover all relevant viewpoints and are not captured by special interests. These reports are peer-reviewed in an open and international process.

This inclusive review process sets the IPCC apart from most other organisations and individual opinion pieces and is the most reliable way of achieving a balanced assessment of the scientific knowledge in such a complex subject area. Thus, it also provides the best source of information on global climate change. The IPCC does not make recommendations for actions to address climate change - it only describes the current state of knowledge on climate change so that governments have a sound basis for decision-making.

The IPCC’s findings show that human activity has caused most of the global warming over the last 50 years, and that human-induced climate change is a real threat to our future.

The IPCC has three Working Groups and a Task Force:

  • Working Group I assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and climate change.
  • Working Group II assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change, and options for adapting to it.
  • Working Group III assesses options for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and otherwise mitigating climate change.
  • The Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is responsible for the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme.

The IPCC meets in plenary sessions about once a year. It approves, accepts and adopts IPCC reports, decides on the programmes and mandates of the Working Groups and the Task Force, the structure and outlines of their reports, IPCC principles and procedures, and the budget. The IPCC also elects the IPCC Chair and the rest of its Bureau.

For more information visit the IPCC website.