IPCC
Author of this article: Philip Beckschäfer
In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is a scientific body, which reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical, and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change with the goal to provide the governments of the world with a clear scientific view of what is happening to the world’s climate. The IPCC does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters by itself. It is publishing assessment reports considering all related peer reviewed papers according to a structure agreed among lead authors. So far, each of these IPCC Assessment Reports was issued as three volumes, corresponding to three Working Groups.
- Working group I: "The Physical Science Basis“ deals with the science behind climate change,
- Working Group II: "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” analyzes possible or likely implications of climate change for human societies around the world, and
- Working Group III: "Mitigation of Climate Change“ considers the possible steps humans might take to influence and alter climate change and the possible outcomes produced by various behaviors.
The coming fifth assessment report (AR5) will have a different structure. Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis as authors, contributors, and reviewers. The authors are proposed by countries but in general the quality of the scientist is the main selection criteria. The IPCC has also a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that aims at developing and refining a methodology for the calculation and reporting of national greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
