IPCC meetings in Geneva

GENEVA, August 11 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is holding two meetings this month in Geneva to advance work on its forthcoming reports.

From 15 to 18 August 2016, around 85 experts joined by members of the IPCC Bureau will take part in the scoping meeting for the Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5°C above Pre-Industrial Levels and Related Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Pathways in the Context of Strengthening the Global Response to the Threat of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Efforts to Eradicate Poverty (SR1.5).

The IPCC was invited to prepare this Special Report by the 21^st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in December 2015. The Conference reached an agreement to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 ºC above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ºC. The report will be delivered in 2018, in time for a “facilitative dialogue” that will take place that year to take stock of progress under the Paris Agreement.

The Special Report is being developed under the joint scientific leadership of all three IPCC Working Groups.

Participants in the scoping meeting will discuss the outline and structure of the new report. The outline approved at this meeting will be submitted for consideration to the next Session of the IPCC on 17-20 October in Bangkok. Following that meeting, the IPCC will publish the outline agreed by the Panel, and discuss it at that time. The IPCC will then call for nominations for authors to prepare the report. The opening session of the scoping meeting on 15 August at 09:00-10:00 Geneva time (07:00-08:00 GMT) will be streamed live on the IPCC’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IPCCNews/.

From 18 to 19 August the IPCC Bureau will meet and discuss various topics, including the scoping meeting for the Special Report on 1.5 ºC, preparations for drafting the outline of the Methodology Report to refine the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and the implementation of the policy to promote participation of developing countries in IPCC activities.

Further information about the Special Report on 1.5 degrees is available at http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/.

For further information, and requests for interviews, contact:

IPCC Press Office, Email:		ipcc-media@wmo.int
Nina Peeva:		+41 22 730 8142
Follow IPCC on	Facebook.	Twitter and	LinkedIn

What is the IPCC?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. The IPCC was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly, to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.

The IPCC does not carry out its own research or climate measurements or produce its own climate models; it assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the current state of knowledge related to climate change. The IPCC reports on both well established and newly emerging understanding; it identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences of opinion, and where further research is needed.

The IPCC offers policymakers a snapshot of what the scientific community understands about climate change rather than promoting a particular view. IPCC reports are policy-relevant without being policy-prescriptive. The IPCC may set out options for policymakers to choose from in pursuit of goals decided by policymakers, but it does not tell governments what to do.

To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of leading scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Like the Chair and other elected officials they are not paid for their work at the IPCC. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.

The members of the IPCC, or Panel, are its 195 member states. They work by consensus to endorse the reports of the IPCC and set its procedures and budget in plenary sessions of the Panel. The IPCC Bureau, elected by members, provides guidance to the Panel on the scientific and technical aspects of its work and advice on related management and strategic issues.

IPCC reports are requested by the member governments and developed by authors drawn from the scientific community in an extensive process of repeated drafting and review. Scientists and other experts participate in this review process through a self-declaration of expertise. The Panel endorses these reports in a dialogue between the governments that request the reports and will work with them and the scientists that write them. In this discussion the scientists have the last word on any additions or changes, although the Panel may agree by consensus to delete something.

The IPCC has three Working Groups and a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Working Group I deals with the physical science basis of climate change, Working Group II looks at impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, and Working Group III examines the mitigation of climate change.

The Sixth Assessment Report

The IPCC agreed at its 41^st Session in February to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42^nd Session in October 2015, the Panel elected the new Bureau that will oversee AR6 and the Special Reports that will be produced in this assessment cycle. At its 43^rd Session in April 2016, the Panel agreed its work programme for the Sixth Assessment Cycle. In addition to the main assessment reports, the IPCC produces Special Reports on particular topics requested by member states or observer organizations.

The IPCC Bureau selected the participants for the scoping meeting of the 1.5 ºC report taking into account criteria such as scientific, technical and socio-economic expertise, ensuring gender balance and geographical representation. The selected experts represent various stakeholders including academia, government institutions and international organizations, civil society and the private sector. The list of experts selected to participate in the scoping meeting, as well as details on the selection and nominations (including graphics), is available at http://www.ipcc.ch/apps/nominations/scoping/sr15/public/rptsummary.php.

For more information, including links to IPCC reports go to: www.ipcc.ch.

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