Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Name	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Formation	1988
Founder	United Nations Environment Programme; World Meteorological Organization
Type	Intergovernmental body
Headquarters	Geneva
Leader title	Chair

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change serves as an international scientific body that assesses evidence on climate change for policymakers. It synthesizes research from institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Tokyo, Peking University, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Tsinghua University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and collaborates with agencies like United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, European Commission, European Environment Agency, and Inter-American Development Bank.

History and Formation

The panel was established in 1988 following discussions influenced by events such as the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere, the work of the Royal Society, and scientific syntheses like reports from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Hadley Centre, and proposals from actors including Gro Harlem Brundtland, Maurice Strong, Rajendra K. Pachauri, Bert Bolin and input from delegations from United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, India, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Russia, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Panama.

Structure and Governance

Governance includes a plenary of member states and an elected leadership comprising a Chair and Bureau that interface with bodies such as the United Nations General Assembly, UN Secretary-General offices and national agencies including Ministry of Environment (United Kingdom), Environmental Protection Agency (United States), Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China), Federal Environment Agency (Germany), Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ministry of Science and Technology (Japan), Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Turkey), and regional organizations like the African Union, Organization of American States, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, European Union delegations. Technical support comes from scientific networks such as Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Council for Science, Global Carbon Project, World Climate Research Programme, International Energy Agency, Climate Action Network, Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Carbon Trust, Rocky Mountain Institute, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, International Renewable Energy Agency, Global Environment Facility.

Assessment Reports and Methodology

Major assessment cycles produce comprehensive reports integrating literature from journals like Nature, Science, The Lancet, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Climate, Climate Dynamics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Research Letters and data from projects such as Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, IPCC Data Distribution Centre, Global Historical Climatology Network, CERES, ARGO, GRACE, MODIS, Landsat, Sentinel (satellite constellation), HadCRUT, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Met Office, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Methodology uses peer review, uncertainty language protocols influenced by National Research Council (United States), statistical tools from Bayesian inference, Monte Carlo methods, paleoclimate proxies including records from Vostok Station, EPICA, Greenland Ice Sheet Project, Tree-ring networks and reconstruction projects like Mann, Bradley and Hughes. Assessment reports (AR1–AR6) and special reports employ scenarios such as Representative Concentration Pathways and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, model intercomparisons like CMIP5 and CMIP6, and integrate evidence on radiative forcing, carbon budgets, climate sensitivity and feedbacks studied at centers including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, State Key Laboratory of Climate Dynamics.

Working Groups and Special Reports

Three Working Groups focus on physical science, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation, coordinating with expert authors from InterAcademy Partnership, Royal Society, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (United States), Academia Sinica, Russian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Brazilian Academy of Sciences, French Academy of Sciences, Max Planck Society, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Korea Academy of Science and Technology, Australian Academy of Science, Mexican Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and contributors from research institutes like Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, National Center for Atmospheric Research. Special reports have included topics linked to negotiations under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, connections to agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, Montreal Protocol interactions, and focus areas like land use, solar radiation modification, carbon dioxide removal, sustainable development indices derived from studies at World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank.

Impact on Policy and International Agreements

Assessment findings have informed negotiations and instruments including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, national commitments such as Nationally Determined Contributions, policy frameworks in European Union Emissions Trading System, California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Clean Air Act amendments influenced by climate science, and economic analyses by Stern Review, Nordhaus DICE model, IPBES linkages, and development planning by World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank. Reports have been cited in rulings and policymaking by courts and legislatures in jurisdictions including International Court of Justice, European Court of Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, High Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court of Colombia, Parliament of the United Kingdom, United States Congress, National People's Congress (China), Bundestag, Knesset, Australian Parliament.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critiques have come from academics, think tanks, and political actors including Heartland Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, Cato Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Friends of Science, and scholars associated with Climate Audit, Judith Curry, Richard Lindzen, Willie Soon, Bjorn Lomborg, with debates engaging publications in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, Nature Climate Change, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Global Environmental Change. Issues debated include review transparency, treatment of uncertainties, representation of developing country perspectives such as those from G77, Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, and management controversies involving leadership and data handling that drew attention from bodies like United Nations General Assembly, European Parliament, US Congress, and media outlets including BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press. Legal challenges, freedom of information requests, and disputes over summary language have engaged institutions such as OpenSecrets, Project Veritas and prompted reforms in review procedures overseen by committees including the United Nations Environment Programme and World Meteorological Organization.

Category:Climate change organizations