WWA's Guide

"The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature." (from IPCC site)

The IPCC definition of climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.  

• Link to official IPCC website: http://www.ipcc.ch/

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an international consortium of climate scientists established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Program to assess scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC is currently developing the fourth assessment report, building on the work of three previous reports. Each report has found the state of the science is consistently moving forward, with increasingly firm conclusions on the reality of climate change and the role of human activity.

The Summary for Policymakers of Working Group I, released in February 2007, is the first of several IPCC reports to be released this year. The report was produced by roughly 600 authors from 40 countries, reviewed by over 620 scientific experts, and adopted and accepted (after a line-by-line review) by 113 governments. IPCC reports provide the best articulation of scientific consensus on climate change issues, only include data and findings accepted by at least 90 percent of the research community.

Several IPCC lead authors and other participating experts are based in the United States, many in Colorado, including at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Lab (ESRL) in Boulder, and at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University. One of the Co-chairs of the IPCC is Susan Solomon of NOAA/ESRL, and Roger Pulwarty of NOAA/ESRL and the WWA is an author of the Working Group 2 report on Adaptation. Pulwarty is also the author of the forthcoming IPCC Technical Report on Climate change and Water.

The IPCC will release two additional Summaries for Policymakers, one on Adaptation and one on Mitigation, and the full report will be released later this year.