IPCC activities are guided by the "Principles Governing IPCC Work" and its Appendices A, B and C.  Appendix A is about the "Procedures for the preparation, review, acceptance, adoption, approval and publication of IPCC Reports".  Appendix B covers  "Financial Procedures for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" and Appendix C contains the "Rules of Procedures for the Election of the IPCC Bureau and any Task Force Bureau".

Principles Governing IPCC Work (PDF) 

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Appendix A to the Principles Governing IPCC Work -  Procedures for the preparation, review, acceptance, adoption,
    approval and publication of IPCC Reports (PDF) 

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Appendix B to the Principles Governing IPCC Work -  Financial Procedures for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

    Change (IPCC) (PDF) 

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Appendix C to the Principles Governing IPCC Work - Rules of Procedures for the Election of the IPCC Bureau and any
    Task Force Bureau (PDF) 

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IPCC Focal Points

Each IPCC member state has a focal-point, usually this contact person is based at the Ministry of Environment or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of his/her respective country. For the List of IPCC Focal-Points, please see the following document (PDF)

Comprehensiveness, objectivity, openness and transparency: these are the principles governing IPCC work. All major decisions about the organization and its work are taken by the Panel of its member countries during the Plenary sessions. The Panel has established clear procedures for all main activities of the organization.

Elections of the Bureau

The Bureau is elected by the Panel and its mandate corresponds to the cycle for the preparation of an Assessment Report (5 to 6 years). Its mandate and work plans are established by the Panel. The Bureau shall reflect balanced geographic representation.

For detailed information, please see Rules of Procedures for the Election of the IPCC Bureau and Any Task Force Bureau.

The IPCC authors and the preparation of the IPCC reports

Authors, contributors, reviewers and other experts are selected by the Bureau of the Working Group from a list of nominations received from governments and participating organizations. They can also be identified directly by the Bureau because of their special expertise reflected in their publications and works. None of them is paid by the IPCC. The composition of lead author teams shall reflect a range of views, expertise and geographical representation.

The Coordinating Lead Authors (CLAs) have the role of coordinating the content of the chapter they’re responsible for (there are usually two CLAs per chapter, one from a developing country and one from a developed one). The Lead Authors (LAs) work in team to produce the content of the chapter they’ve been designated for. They are often supported by several Contributing Authors, who provide more technical information on specific subjects covered by the chapter.

Review is an essential part of the IPCC process to ensure objective and complete assessment of the current information. In the course of the multi-stage review process, both expert reviewers and governments are invited to comment on the accuracy and completeness of the scientific/technical/socio economic content and the overall balance of the drafts. The circulation process among peer and government experts is very wide, with hundreds of scientists looking into the drafts to check the soundness of the scientific information contained in them. The Review Editors of the report (normally two per chapter) make sure that all comments are well taken into account. Review comments are retained in an open archive on completion of a report for a period of at least 5 years. To view review comments on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) follow these links Working Group I, Working Group II, Working Group III. For a summary description of the process leading to the AR4 working group contributions, follow these links Working Group I, Working Group II, Working Group III.

All IPCC reports must be endorsed by the Panel during a Working Group or a Plenary session. There are three levels of endorsement:

“approval” means that the material has been subjected to line by line discussion and agreement. It is the procedure used for the Summary for Policymakers of the Reports.
“adoption” is a process of endorsement section by section. It is used for the Synthesis Report and overview chapters of Methodology Reports.
“acceptance” signifies that the material has not been subject to line by line nor section by section discussion and agreement, but nevertheless presents a comprehensive, objective and balanced view of the subject matter. 

For a detailed description, please see Procedures for the Preparation, Review, Acceptance, Adoption, Approval and Publication of IPCC Reports.

A simplified description of the writing and review process can be found in the fact sheet "The Preparation of IPCC Reports".

Funding of the IPCC

The IPCC is funded by regular contributions from its parents’organizations WMO and UNEP, the UNFCCC and voluntary contributions by its member countries. WMO also hosts the IPCC Secretariat and WMO and UNEP provide one staff member each for the IPCC Secretariat. Information about contribution received and expenditures incurred is provided by the Secretariat to the Panel. It is contained in the document on programme and budget.

The contributions form the IPCC Trust Fund which is administered under the Financial Regulations of the WMO. The Trust Fund supports the IPCC activities, in particular the participation of developing country experts in the IPCC work, and publication and translation of IPCC reports.

Governments provide further substantial support for activities of the IPCC, in particular through hosting Technical Support Units, supporting the participation of experts from their country in IPCC activities, hosting meetings etc.

Learn more about the Financial Procedures for the IPCC.

Observer Organizations

 

Sessions of the IPCC and the IPCC Working Groups are also attended by representatives of observer organizations. Any non-profit body or agency, whether national or international, governmental or intergovernmental, which is qualified in matters covered by the IPCC, may be admitted as an observer organization. A process had been established on the purpose - it takes approximately 6-8 months-, and the admittance is anyway subject to acceptance by the Panel. Organizations which already have an observer status with WMO; UNEP or UNFCCC are considered as observers of the IPCC if they request so, and subject to acceptance by the Panel. The IPCC has at present 28 observer organizations among UN bodies and organizations, and 52 non-UN observers (see list of IPCC observer organizations).

For more information please see:

IPCC Policy and Process for admitting Observer Organizations

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Other documents regarding the IPCC proceedings:

Decision Framework for Special Reports, Methodology Reports and Technical Papers

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