First Assessment Report

First Assessment Report
Title	First Assessment Report
Organization	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Date	1990
Subject	Climate change assessment
Language	English

Contents

First Assessment Report

The First Assessment Report was the initial comprehensive synthesis produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1990, providing a foundational evaluation of climate science for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, IPCC Working Group I, and IPCC Working Group II. It informed negotiations at the United Nations General Assembly, shaped discussions at the Conference of the Parties, and influenced policy instruments such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiation text, the Montreal Protocol monitoring dialogue, and technical guidance used by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development delegations.

Background and Purpose

The report emerged amid scientific and diplomatic activity following studies by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Royal Society, Max Planck Society, and the World Climate Research Programme, aiming to consolidate findings from research institutions including Columbia University, University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Hadley Centre. Its stated purpose was to provide authoritative input to the Second World Climate Conference, briefings for the G-7 Summit, and technical material for negotiators in the lead-up to the Rio Earth Summit. Sponsors and contributors included national academies such as the Royal Society and the National Academy of Sciences, and international bodies like the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization.

Authorship comprised hundreds of scientists from institutions such as California Institute of Technology, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Carnegie Institution for Science, Princeton University, and University of Tokyo. The drafting process involved editorial coordination by panels associated with IPCC Working Group I, IPCC Working Group II, and IPCC Working Group III, review rounds with experts from European Commission research services, and government review by delegations from United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and France. Methodologies integrated outputs from general circulation models developed at centers like the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the Hadley Centre; paleoclimate data from Vostok Station, Greenland Ice Sheet Project, and Lake Baikal cores; and observational records from TOGA, Global Ocean Observing System, and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project. Uncertainty analysis drew on statistical approaches used in studies at Stanford University, ETH Zurich, and Imperial College London.

The report concluded that anthropogenic emissions associated with activities in Industrial Revolution-era economies—documented in inventories by International Energy Agency and studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—were likely to alter atmospheric composition, with projections based on scenarios discussed at World Energy Conference workshops. It reported evidence for warming from surface records compiled by Hadley Centre and NASA GISS, sea-level rise documented by University of Washington tide-gauge analyses, and changes in cryosphere extent observed at Dartmouth College and University of Alaska Fairbanks. The synthesis asserted links between greenhouse gas concentrations monitored at Mauna Loa Observatory and radiative forcing estimates from studies at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and recommended mitigation pathways considered by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development policymakers and European Commission planners.

The assessment catalyzed integration across disciplines represented by researchers from Columbia University, University of Oxford, California Institute of Technology, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Stockholm Environment Institute. It standardized scenarios and metrics later adopted by the UNFCCC Secretariat, influenced climate modeling efforts at National Center for Atmospheric Research and Met Office Hadley Centre, and underpinned economic analyses by World Bank and International Monetary Fund teams. Its synthesis informed subsequent scientific syntheses at Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meetings and contributed to capacity building in observatories like Argo, networks such as Global Climate Observing System, and programs run by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization affiliates.

Responses ranged from endorsement by the Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences, and delegations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to critique from commentators in Wall Street Journal-aligned circles and policy analysts in Heritage Foundation-associated forums. Scientific critiques focused on model sensitivity estimates debated at conferences like the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and in journals associated with Nature and Science, while diplomatic critiques emphasized economic implications discussed at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ministerial meetings and G-77 consultations. Independent reviews by institutions including Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research led to methodological refinements in later assessments.

The report established conventions later expanded in subsequent IPCC assessment cycles, influencing the structure of reports issued in 1995, 2001, 2007, 2013, and 2021 and shaping syntheses used by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Parties at Conference of the Parties sessions. Its legacy is evident in the development of integrated assessment models at MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, scenario frameworks used by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors, and capacity-building initiatives at World Meteorological Organization regional offices. The report remains a milestone cited in policy documents from European Commission, legal briefs in cases before courts influenced by International Court of Justice advisory requests, and educational curricula at institutions such as University of Cambridge and Harvard University.

Category:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports