Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Description

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, is the United Nations body that assesses the science of climate change.

It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations endorsed its creation the same year. Its job is to give governments scientific information they can use to develop climate policy, and its reports feed into international climate negotiations. The IPCC does not carry out its own research; instead it assesses thousands of published scientific papers to summarise what is known about the drivers, impacts and risks of climate change and options for adaptation and mitigation.

Thousands of experts from around the world volunteer as authors, and an open review by experts and governments is part of every report. The IPCC is organised into three working groups, covering the physical science of climate change, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation, plus a task force on national greenhouse gas inventories. Its secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland, and it has 195 member states.

The IPCC has produced six comprehensive assessment reports since 1990 as well as special reports on topics such as global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, land use, and the ocean and cryosphere. It shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its work building and spreading knowledge about human-made climate change.