Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

by Laurent Cousineau
(Montreal)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, often abbreviated as IPCC, was established in 1988 by both the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The IPCC is generally considered the official advisor to the world’s governments on climate change.

Their Role

Essentially, the IPCC assesses scientific, technical, and socio-economic information related to climate change via leading experts from around the world.

Hundreds of world experts on climate change and environmental, economic, and social sciences help the IPCC prepare its periodic assessments.

Moreover, the IPCC reports on the effects of climate change as well as the prospects for various adaptation and mitigation initiatives.

The IPCC also organized international standards for conducting inventories of greenhouse gas emissions.

Important Facts

Presently, 195 countries are members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In 2007, the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Al Gore and the IPCC (shared in two equal parts)

"for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."