Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Latest News

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global scientific authority on the state of knowledge and challenges from global warming, has begun work on its seventh cycle of assessment report.

About Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

• The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
• It was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988.
• Membership: The IPCC is an organisation of governments that are members of the United Nations or the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The IPCC currently has 195 members.
• Objective: To assess scientific, technical, and socio-economic information relevant to the understanding of human-induced climate change, potential impacts of climate change, and options for mitigation and adaptation.
• The IPCC provides governments with scientific information for use in developing climate policies.
• The main activity of the IPCC is the preparation of reports assessing the state of knowledge of climate change. These include assessment reports, special reports and methodology reports. 
• IPCC reports are also key inputs into international climate change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The IPCC does not undertake new research or monitor climate-related data. 
  • Instead, it conducts assessments of the state of climate change knowledge on the basis of published and peer-reviewed scientific and technical literature. 
  • Scientists volunteer their time to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
• The IPPC’s first assessment report was released in 1990. The IPCC finished its Sixth Assessment Report cycle in 2023 and has now entered its Seventh Assessment Report cycle. 

What are the IPCC working groups?

• It comprises three working groups, which focus on different aspects of climate science and climate change response. 
  • Working Group I: looks at the physics of climate change;
  • Working Group II: examines climate change impacts and adaptation;
  • Working Group III: focuses on climate change mitigation;
• The three working groups release separate reports, which are then compiled into a synthesis report.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change FAQs

Q1. What is the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?

Ans. It is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.

Q2. Where is the headquarters of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?

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Ans. The Secretariat of IPCC is located in Geneva, Switzerland, in the building of the World Meteorological Organization.

Q3. Who funds the IPCC?

Ans. The IPCC is funded by regular contributions from its parent organizations WMO and UNEP, and voluntary contributions from its member governments and the UNFCCC

Source: TH