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What is the IPCC?

Founded in 1988 by the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is charged with, among other things, identifying gaps in knowledge about climate change science and assessing the potential impacts of greenhouse gases. The IPCC has released four reports – in 1990, 1995, 2001, and 2007.

The IPCC does not conduct research. Instead, it enlists a diverse group of scientists from around the globe to review existing research. Governments nominate their own scientists for participation on the panel, and the result is a mix of contributors from all over the world. Some 600 authors took three years to draft the May IPCC report on "Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis." More than 620 expert reviewers commented on its various drafts, and 113 countries approved it.

The IPCC has three working groups, each with a different area of focus. Each is charged with releasing its own report. In 2007 Working Group I focused on the physical science of climate change; Working Group II on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability; and Working Group III on how to stop or slow down climate change (mitigation).

The IPCC will release a summarized report of all three working groups in November.

Each Working Group report has a summary for policymakers (SPM) that contains the key findings from the main report. Before its release, government delegations review the SPM line by line. All participating governments must approve the SPM unanimously. If a delegation absolutely disagrees with something in the report, then the line in question is excised. But governments cannot alter the text to better align with their own interests.

"We the scientists ... never lost control of the report," says Richard Somerville, a coordinating lead author for Working Group I, in an e-mail. "Governments wordsmithed it usefully ... but the science wasn't distorted or watered down in any manner. The SPM is a Summary FOR Policymakers, not BY Policymakers."

For more information:

The IPCC home page (with links to key publications)

IPCC FAQs and a user guide to the IPCC website

IPCC principles and procedures

The Working Group I Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis

Reviewer comments and responses to the Working Group I report

The Working Group II Assessment Report: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability

The Working Group III Assessment Report: Mitigation of climate change