Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science
related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN
Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers
with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future
risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to
develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to
tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing
objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to tell policymakers
what we know and don't know about the risks related to climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is an agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences of opinion, and where
further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are
drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC's Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of
climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working
Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a
Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake an assessment of cross-disciplinary issues that span
more than one working group and are shorter and more focused than the main assessments.
The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global
warming to 1.5ºC compared to 2ºC, or more. For instance, by 2100, the global sea level rise would be
10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C. The likelihood of the Arctic Ocean
free of sea ice in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5°C, compared with
at least once per decade with 2°C. Coral reefs would decline by 70-90 per cent with global warming
of 1.5°C, whereas virtually all (> 99 per cent) would be lost with 2ºC.
“Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since warming of 1.5ºC or higher increases the risk
associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems,” said
Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II.
related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN
Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers
with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future
risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to
develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to
tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing
objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to tell policymakers
what we know and don't know about the risks related to climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is an agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences of opinion, and where
further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are
drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC's Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of
climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working
Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a
Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake an assessment of cross-disciplinary issues that span
more than one working group and are shorter and more focused than the main assessments.
The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global
warming to 1.5ºC compared to 2ºC, or more. For instance, by 2100, the global sea level rise would be
10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C. The likelihood of the Arctic Ocean
free of sea ice in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5°C, compared with
at least once per decade with 2°C. Coral reefs would decline by 70-90 per cent with global warming
of 1.5°C, whereas virtually all (> 99 per cent) would be lost with 2ºC.
“Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since warming of 1.5ºC or higher increases the risk
associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems,” said
Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II.
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