GENEVA, Sept 26 – Experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will meet in New Delhi, India, on 30 September to 4 October 2019 to advance their work on the Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report.
More than 200 experts from 65 countries will come together for one week to start preparing a first draft of the report, which is due to be finalized in July 2021. The meeting is hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India.
IPCC Working Group III is responsible for assessing the mitigation of climate change – responses and solutions to the threat of dangerous climate change by reducing emissions and enhancing sinks of the greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming.
The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) will examine topics such as the link between consumption and behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions, and the role of innovation and technology. The report will assess the connection between short to medium-term actions and their compatibility with the long-term temperature goal in the Paris Agreement. It will assess mitigation options in sectors such as energy, agriculture, forestry and land use, buildings, transport and industry.
“Following our previous Lead Author Meeting in the United Kingdom, it is a pleasure to be in the IPCC Working Group III Technical Support Unit’s other home country, India,” said Priyadarshi R. Shukla, Co-Chair of Working Group III. “IPCC authors and scientists are working to deliver the most relevant and up-to-date research on climate change mitigation.”.
The First Order Draft will be available for Expert Review from 13 January to 8 March 2020. The Second Order Draft will be open for Government and Expert Review from 13 July to 13 September 2020, along with the first draft of the Summary for Policymakers. The IPCC Panel is due to consider the Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report at a plenary session on 12 to 16 July 2021.
“Building on previous Working Group III assessments, this report will emphasize what can be done in the near term to mitigate climate change, and how mitigation actions can be enabled through policy, institution-building and finance,” said Jim Skea, Co-Chair of Working Group III.
“Mitigation efforts will be set firmly in the context of sustainable development and development pathways compatible with a just transition towards net zero emissions,” he said.
The agreed outline of the report can be found here. The list of authors of the report can be found here.
Each of the three IPCC Working Groups will release their contributions to the Sixth Assessment Report in 2021. A Synthesis Report in 2022 will integrate them together with the three special reports that the IPCC is producing in the current assessment cycle. It will be released in time to inform the 2023 global stocktake by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) when countries will review progress towards the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to well below 2°C while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
Media briefing
Monday 30 September 2019, 8:15 – 10:00 a.m.
Taj Mahal Hotel, 1 Mansingh Road, New Delhi
Media are also invited to attend the opening ceremony on Monday 30 September at 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. at the Taj Mahal Hotel, 1 Mansingh Road, New Delhi, Delhi 110011, India.
Outreach event (open to media)
“What are Countries Doing to Mitigate Climate Change?” hosted by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
6:30 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday 1 October at the Indian Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Speakers include Karen Seto, Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanisation Science at Yale University; Harald Winkler, Professor of Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town; and Heleen de Coninck, Associate Professor in Innovation Studies at the Environmental Science Department at Radboud University. This event will be chaired by Professor Navroz K. Dubash, Professor, Centre for Policy Research, and Dr. Ritu Mathur, Senior Fellow, The Energy and Resources Institute.
Event details and registration: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/72926395813/
For more information contact:
IPCC Working Group III Technical Support Unit
Sigourney Luz (Communications Manager), e-mail: s.luz@ipcc-wg3.ac.uk
IPCC Press Office
Jonathan Lynn, +41 22 730 8066, e-mail: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Notes for editors
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states.
Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, IPCC 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, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of climate change; Working Group I, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 6 to 7 years; the latest, the Fifth Assessment Report, was completed in 2014, and provided the main scientific input to the Paris Agreement.
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle. At its 43rd Session in April 2016, it decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report and AR6.
The IPCC also publishes special reports on more specific issues between assessment reports.
Global Warming of 1.5°C, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius 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 was launched in October 2018.
Climate Change and Land, an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems was launched in August 2019.
The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate was released in September 2019.
In May 2019 the IPCC released the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, an update to the methodology used by governments to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
The contributions of the three IPCC Working Groups to the Sixth Assessment Report will be finalized in 2021. The concluding Synthesis Report is due in 2022.
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
MONACO, Sept 25 – The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report highlights the urgency of prioritizing timely, ambitious and coordinated action to address unprecedented and enduring changes in the ocean and cryosphere.
The report reveals the benefits of ambitious and effective adaptation for sustainable development and, conversely, the escalating costs and risks of delayed action.
The ocean and the cryosphere – the frozen parts of the planet – play a critical role for life on Earth. A total of 670 million people in high mountain regions and 680 million people in low-lying coastal zones depend directly on these systems. Four million people live permanently in the Arctic region, and small island developing states are home to 65 million people.
Global warming has already reached 1°C above the pre-industrial level, due to past and current greenhouse gas emissions. There is overwhelming evidence that this is resulting in profound consequences for ecosystems and people. The ocean is warmer, more acidic and less productive. Melting glaciers and ice sheets are causing sea level rise, and coastal extreme events are becoming more severe.
The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, approved on 24 September 2019 by the 195 IPCC member governments, provides new evidence for the benefits of limiting global warming to the lowest possible level – in line with the goal that governments set themselves in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions limits the scale of ocean and cryosphere changes. Ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend on them can be preserved.
“The open sea, the Arctic, the Antarctic and the high mountains may seem far away to many people,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. “But we depend on them and are influenced by them directly and indirectly in many ways – for weather and climate, for food and water, for energy, trade, transport, recreation and tourism, for health and wellbeing, for culture and identity.”
“If we reduce emissions sharply, consequences for people and their livelihoods will still be challenging, but potentially more manageable for those who are most vulnerable,” Lee said. “We increase our ability to build resilience and there will be more benefits for sustainable development.”
Knowledge assessed in the report outlines climate-related risks and challenges that people around the world are exposed to today and that future generations will face. It presents options to adapt to changes that can no longer be avoided, manage related risks and build resilience for a sustainable future. The assessment shows that adaptation depends on the capacity of individuals and communities and the resources available to them.
More than 100 authors from 36 countries assessed the latest scientific literature related to the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate for the report, referencing about 7,000 scientific publications.
The IPCC Special Report is a key scientific input for world leaders gathering in forthcoming climate and environment negotiations, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Chile in December
“The world’s ocean and cryosphere have been ‘taking the heat’ from climate change for decades, and consequences for nature and humanity are sweeping and severe,” said Ko Barrett, Vice-Chair of the IPCC. “The rapid changes to the ocean and the frozen parts of our planet are forcing people from coastal cities to remote Arctic communities to fundamentally alter their ways of life,” she added.
“By understanding the causes of these changes and the resulting impacts, and by evaluating options that are available, we can strengthen our ability to adapt,” she said. “The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate provides the knowledge that facilitates these kinds of decisions.”
Major changes in high mountains affecting downstream communities
People in mountain regions are increasingly exposed to hazards and changes in water availability, the report said.
Glaciers, snow, ice and permafrost are declining and will continue to do so. This is projected to increase hazards for people, for example through landslides, avalanches, rockfalls and floods.
Smaller glaciers found for example in Europe, eastern Africa, the tropical Andes and Indonesia are projected to lose more than 80% of their current ice mass by 2100 under high emission scenarios. The retreat of the high mountain cryosphere will continue to adversely affect recreational activities, tourism, and cultural assets.
As mountain glaciers retreat, they are also altering water availability and quality downstream, with implications for many sectors such as agriculture and hydropower.
“Changes in water availability will not just affect people in these high mountain regions, but also communities much further downstream,” said Panmao Zhai, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I.
“Limiting warming would help them adapt to changes in water supplies in mountain regions and beyond, and limit risks related to mountain hazards,” he said. “Integrated water management and transboundary cooperation provides opportunities to address impacts of these changes in water resources.”
Melting ice, rising seas
Glaciers and ice sheets in polar and mountain regions are losing mass, contributing to an increasing rate of sea level rise, together with expansion of the warmer ocean.
While sea level has risen globally by around 15 cm during the 20th century, it is currently rising more than twice as fast – 3.6 mm per year – and accelerating, the report showed.
Sea level will continue to rise for centuries. It could reach around 30-60 cm by 2100 even if greenhouse gas emissions are sharply reduced and global warming is limited to well below 2°C, but around 60-110 cm if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase strongly.
“In recent decades the rate of sea level rise has accelerated, due to growing water inputs from ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, in addition to the contribution of meltwater from glaciers and the expansion of warmer sea waters,” said Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I.
“This new assessment has also revised upwards the projected contribution of the Antarctic ice sheet to sea level rise by 2100 in the case of high emissions of greenhouse gases,” she said. “The wide range of sea level projections for 2100 and beyond is related to how ice sheets will react to warming, especially in Antarctica, with major uncertainties still remaining.”
More frequent extreme sea level events
Sea level rise will increase the frequency of extreme sea level events, which occur for example during high tides and intense storms. Indications are that with any degree of additional warming, events that occurred once per century in the past will occur every year by mid-century in many regions, increasing risks for many low-lying coastal cities and small islands.
Without major investments in adaptation, they would be exposed to escalating flood risks, the report shows. Some island nations are likely to become uninhabitable due to climate-related ocean and cryosphere change, the report said, but habitability thresholds remain extremely difficult to assess.
Increases in tropical cyclone winds and rainfall are exacerbating extreme sea level events and coastal hazards. Hazards will be further be intensified by an increase in the average intensity, magnitude of storm surge and precipitation rates of tropical cyclones, especially if greenhouse gas emissions remain high.
“Various adaptation approaches are already being implemented, often in response to flooding events, and the report highlights the diversity of options available for each context to develop integrated responses anticipating the full scale of future sea level rise,” said Masson-Delmotte.
Changing ocean ecosystems
Warming and changes in ocean chemistry are already disrupting species throughout the ocean food web, with impacts on marine ecosystems and people that depend on them, the report said.
To date, the ocean has taken up more than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system. By 2100, the ocean will take up 2 to 4 times more heat than between 1970 and the present if global warming is limited to 2°C, and up to 5 to 7 times more at higher emissions. Ocean warming reduces mixing between water layers and, as a consequence, the supply of oxygen and nutrients for marine life.
Marine heatwaves have doubled in frequency since 1982 and are increasing in intensity. They are projected to further increase in frequency, duration, extent and intensity. Their frequency will be 20 times higher at 2°C warming, compared to pre-industrial levels. They would occur 50 times more often if emissions continue to increase strongly.
The ocean has taken up between 20 to 30% of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions since the 1980s, causing ocean acidification. Continued carbon uptake by the ocean by 2100 will exacerbate ocean acidification.
Ocean warming and acidification, loss of oxygen and changes in nutrient supplies, are already affecting the distribution and abundance of marine life in coastal areas, in the open ocean and at the sea floor.
Shifts in the distribution of fish populations have reduced the global catch potential. In the future, some regions, notably tropical oceans, will see further decreases, but there will be increases in others, such as the Arctic. Communities that depend highly on seafood may face risks to nutritional health and food security.
“Cutting greenhouse gas emissions will limit impacts on ocean ecosystems that provide us with food, support our health and shape our cultures,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II. “Reducing other pressures such as pollution will further help marine life deal with changes in their environment, while enabling a more resilient ocean.”
“Policy frameworks, for example for fisheries management and marine-protected areas, offer opportunities for communities to adapt to changes and minimize risks for our livelihoods,” he added.
Declining Arctic sea ice, thawing permafrost
The extent of Arctic sea ice is declining in every month of the year, and it is getting thinner. If global warming is stabilized at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the Arctic ocean would only be ice-free in September – the month with the least ice – once in every hundred years. For global warming of 2°C, this would occur up to one year in three.
Some people living in the Arctic, especially indigenous peoples, have already adjusted their traveling and hunting activities to the seasonality and safety of land, ice and snow conditions, and some coastal communities have planned for relocation. Their success in adapting depends on funding, capacities, and institutional support, the report shows.
Permafrost ground that has been frozen for many years is warming and thawing and widespread permafrost thaw is projected to occur in the 21st century. Even if global warming is limited to well below 2°C, around 25% of the near-surface (3-4 meter depth) permafrost will thaw by 2100. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase strongly, there is a potential that around 70% near-surface permafrost could be lost.
Arctic and boreal permafrost hold large amounts of organic carbon, almost twice the carbon in the atmosphere, and have the potential to significantly increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere if they thaw. It is unclear whether there is already a net release of carbon dioxide or methane due to the ongoing thaw of the Arctic permafrost. In the future, increased plant growth can increase the storage of carbon in soils and offset carbon release from permafrost thaw, but not at the scale of large changes on the long term.
Wildfires are disturbing ecosystems in most tundra and boreal as well as mountain regions.
Knowledge for urgent action
The report finds that strongly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting and restoring ecosystems, and carefully managing the use of natural resources would make it possible to preserve the ocean and cryosphere as a source of opportunities that support adaptation to future changes, limit risks to livelihoods and offer multiple additional societal benefits.
“We will only be able to keep global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels if we effect unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society, including energy, land and ecosystems, urban and infrastructure as well as industry. The ambitious climate policies and emissions reductions required to deliver the Paris Agreement will also protect the ocean and cryosphere – and ultimately sustain all life on Earth,” said Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II.
SROCC provides the best available scientific knowledge to empower governments and communities to take action, embedding that scientific knowledge on unavoidable change and plausible futures into their own context, to limit the scale of risks and climate impacts.
The report gives evidence of the benefits of combining scientific with local and indigenous knowledge to develop suitable options to manage climate change risks and enhance resilience. This is the first IPCC report that highlights the importance of education to enhance climate change, ocean and cryosphere literacy.
“The more decisively and the earlier we act, the more able we will be to address unavoidable changes, manage risks, improve our lives and achieve sustainability for ecosystems and people around the world – today and in the future,” Roberts said.
For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office ipcc-media@wmo.int, +377 93 15 36 98
IPCC Working Group II Technical Support Unit tsu@ipcc-wg2.awi.de
Maike Nicolai maike.nicolai@ipcc-wg2.awi.de,
Notes for Editors
Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC)
The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) is the third in a series of Special Reports produced in the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Cycle. The report was prepared under the joint scientific leadership of IPCC Working Groups I and II, with support from the Working Group II Technical Support Unit.
The word “cryosphere” – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the frozen components of the Earth system, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, icebergs and sea ice, ice on lakes and rivers as well as permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.
The Summary for Policymakers presents the key findings of the Special Report, based on the assessment of the available scientific, technical and socio-economic literature relevant to the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate.
The Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate as well as additional information are available at https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc
SROCC in numbers
The report was prepared by 104 authors and review editors from 36 countries, 19 of which are developing countries or economies in transition.
31 were women and 73 were men.
6,981 publications were referenced in the whole report (Final Draft).
The drafts of the report received 31,176 comments from 80 countries and the EU.
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch
MONACO, Sept 24 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will hold a press conference in Monaco on Wednesday 25 September 2019 to present the Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, subject to approval.
The press conference, which will start at 11:00 a.m. local time (CEST) (05.00 EDT (New York), 09:00 GMT, 10:00 BST (London), 12:00 EAT (Nairobi), 16:00 ICT (Bangkok)), will be live-streamed in English at https://www.youtube.com/ipccgeneva and http://www.facebook.com/IPCC.
The press conference is taking place at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, Avenue Saint-Martin, Monaco.
This information will also be posted on our social media channels on the day of the press conference.
Media representatives not attending the press conference in person can submit questions remotely though www.sli.do entering the event code SROCC on the sli.do page. To submit questions, open www.sli.do
- Enter the event code (SROCC) then click join
- A window will open where you can submit your questions
- Type in the question up to 300 characters.
- In the name section, type your name and in brackets your organization i.e First Name, Surname (Organization). It is important to include your organization as anonymous questions will not be accepted.
- Click send to submit your question.
Please note that because of limited time, it may not be possible to answer all questions that are submitted.
Information about booking interviews with IPCC authors is available here: https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/09/04/srocc-interviews-p51/ and for media registration here: https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/08/14/media-registration-srocc-p51/
A factsheet on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is available here: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/09/SROCC-factsheet.pdf.
For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office +377 93 15 36 98, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Notes for Editors
About SROCC
For the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) about 130 scientists from more than 37 countries are assessing the physical processes and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems. It also assesses consequences for human communities and options for people to adapt to climate-related changes for a more sustainable future. SROCC is being prepared under the joint scientific leadership of IPCC Working Groups I and II, and supported by the WG II Technical Support Unit. The report references more than 7,000 scientific publications.
The word “cryosphere” – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the frozen components of the Earth system, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, icebergs and sea ice, ice on lakes and rivers as well as permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch
MONACO, Sept 23 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will make footage of the press conference of the release of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in Changing Climate available to interested broadcasters.
The footage can be downloaded here: https://bit.ly/2mkREYz
Information about booking interviews with IPCC authors is available here: https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/09/04/srocc-interviews-p51/ and for media registration here: https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/08/14/media-registration-srocc-p51/ . The deadline for media registration is midnight Monaco time on 23 September 2019
A factsheet on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is available here: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/09/SROCC-factsheet.pdf.
For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office: ipcc-media@wmo.int, +377 93 15 36 98 (from 4pm on 24 September 2019)
Notes for Editors
About SROCC
For the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) about 130 scientists from more than 37 countries are assessing the physical processes and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems. It also assesses consequences for human communities and options for people to adapt to climate-related changes for a more sustainable future. SROCC is being prepared under the joint scientific leadership of IPCC Working Groups I and II, and supported by the WG II Technical Support Unit. The report references more than 7,000 scientific publications.
The word “cryosphere” – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the frozen components of the Earth system, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, icebergs and sea ice, ice on lakes and rivers as well as permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch
Science highlights key facts and figures about growing gap between targets and reality
New York, 22 September 2019 – The world’s leading climate science organizations have joined forces to produce a landmark new report for the United Nations Climate Action Summit, underlining the glaring – and growing – gap between agreed targets to tackle global warming and the actual reality.
The report, United in Science, includes details on the state of the climate and presents trends in the emissions and atmospheric concentrations of the main greenhouse gases. It highlights the urgency of fundamental socio-economic transformation in key sectors such as land use and energy in order to avert dangerous global temperature increase with potentially irreversible impacts. It also examines tools to support both mitigation and adaptation.
“The Report provides a unified assessment of the state of our Earth system under the increasing influence of anthropogenic climate change, of humanity’s response thus far and of the far-reaching changes that science projects for our global climate in the future. The scientific data and findings presented in the report represent the very latest authoritative information on these topics,” said the Science Advisory Group to the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit.
“It highlights the urgent need for the development of concrete actions that halt global warming and the worst effects of climate change.”
The Science Advisory Group is co-chaired by WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas and Leena Srivastava, former Vice Chancellor of TERI School of Advanced Studies. It comprises highly recognized and respected natural and social scientists, with expertise in different aspects of climate change, including on mitigation and adaptation.
The report, which was coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization, aims to present a “transparent envelope” of authoritative and actionable cutting-edge science.
The synthesis report consists of short summaries from contributing agencies: the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), Global Atmosphere Watch, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Carbon Project, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Future Earth, Earth League and the Global Framework for Climate Services. The synthesis is complemented by longer, individual reports, presented as a package to a high-level science event on 22 September and then to world leaders at the Climate Action Summit on 23 September.
Highlights from the report include:
The Global Climate in 2015-2019
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Warmest five-year period on record
The average global temperature for 2015–2019 is on track to be the warmest of any equivalent period on record. It is currently estimated to be 1.1°Celsius (± 0.1°C) above pre-industrial (1850–1900) times. Widespread and long-lasting heatwaves, record-breaking fires and other devastating events such as tropical cyclones, floods and drought have had major impacts on socio-economic development and the environment.
Continued decrease of sea ice and ice mass
Arctic summer sea-ice extent has declined at a rate of approximately 12% per decade during 1979-2018. The four lowest values for winter sea-ice extent occurred between 2015 and 2019.
Overall, the amount of ice lost annually from the Antarctic ice sheet increased at least six-fold between 1979 and 2017. Glacier mass loss for 2015-2019 is the highest for any five-year period on record.
Sea-level rise is accelerating, sea water is becoming more acidic
The observed rate of global mean sea-level rise accelerated from 3.04 millimeters per year (mm/yr) during the period 1997–2006 to approximately 4mm/yr during the period 2007–2016. This is due to the increased rate of ocean warming and melting of the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets. There has been an overall increase of 26% in ocean acidity since the beginning of the industrial era.
Record Greenhouse Gas Concentrations in the Atmosphere
WMO Global Atmosphere Watch
Levels of the main long-lived greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4)) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have reached new highs.
The last time Earth’s atmosphere contained 400 parts per million CO2 was about 3-5 million years ago, when global mean surface temperatures were 2-3°C warmer than today, ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica melted, parts of East Antarctica ice had retreated, all causing global see level rise of 10-20m compared with today.
In 2018, global CO2 concentration was 407.8 parts per million (ppm), 2.2 ppm higher than 2017. Preliminary data from a subset of greenhouse gas monitoring sites for 2019 indicate that CO2 concentrations are on track to reach or even exceed 410 parts per million (ppm) by the end of 2019.
In 2017, globally averaged atmospheric concentrations of CO2 were 405.6 ±0.1 ppm, CH4) at 1859 ±2 parts per billion (ppb) and N2O at 329.9 ±0.1 ppb. These values constitute, respectively, 146%, 257% and 122% of pre-industrial levels (pre-1750).
The growth rate of CO2 averaged over three consecutive decades (1985–1995, 1995–2005 and 2005–2015) increased from 1.42 ppm/yr to 1.86 ppm/yr and to 2.06 ppm/yr
Global Carbon Budget
Global Carbon Project
Carbon dioxide emissions grew 2% and reached a record high of 37 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2018. There is still no sign of a peak in global emissions, even though they are growing slower than the global economy.
Current economic and energy trends suggest that emissions will be at least as high in 2019 as in 2018. Global GDP is expected to grow at 3.2% in 2019, and if the global economy decarbonized at the same rate as in the last 10 years, that would still lead to an increase in global emissions.
Despite extraordinary growth in renewable fuels over the past decade, the global energy system is still dominated by fossil fuel sources. The annual increase in global energy use is greater than the increase in renewable energy, meaning the fossil fuel use continues to grow. This growth needs to halt immediately.
The net-zero emissions needed to stabilize the climate requires both an acceleration in use of non-carbon energy sources and a rapid decline in the global share of fossil fuels in the energy mix. This dual requirement illustrates the scale of the challenge.
Natural CO2 sinks, such as vegetation and oceans, which remove about half of all emissions from human activities, but will become less efficient at doing so. This underscores the need to reduce deforestation and expand natural CO2 sinks, particularly those in forests and soils that can be improved by better management and habitat restoration.
The emissions gap – where we are and where we need to be
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports, with the tenth edition being published this November, assess the latest scientific studies on current and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions; they compare these with the emission levels permissible for the world to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between “where we are likely to be and where we need to be” is known as the emissions gap.
Global emissions are not estimated to peak by 2030, let alone by 2020, if current climate policies and ambition levels of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are maintained. Preliminary findings from the Emissions Gap Report 2019 indicate that greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise in 2018.
The emissions gap in 2030 between emission levels under full implementation of conditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and levels consistent with least-cost pathways to the 2°C target is 13 GtCO2e. If just the unconditional NDCs are implemented, the gap increases to 15 GtCO2e. The gap in the case of the 1.5°C target is 29 GtCO2e and 32 GtCO2e respectively.
Current NDCs are estimated to lower global emissions in 2030 by up to 6 GtCO2e compared to a continuation of current policies. This level of ambition needs to be roughly tripled to align with the 2°C limit and must be increased around fivefold to align with the 1.5°C limit.
Implementing unconditional NDCs, and assuming that climate action continues consistently throughout the twenty-first century, would lead to a global mean temperature rise between 2.9°C and 3.4°C by 2100 relative to pre-industrial levels.
If NDC ambitions are not increased immediately and backed up by action, exceeding the 1.5°C goal can no longer be avoided. If the emissions gap is not closed by 2030, it is very plausible that the goal of a well-below 2°C temperature increase is also out of reach.
A substantial part of the technical potential can be realized through scaling up and replicating existing, well-proven policies – such as switching to renewable energy and reforestation – that simultaneously contribute to key sustainable development goals.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Three IPCC Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019 assess complementary and specific aspects of climate change, ahead of the Sixth Assessment Report.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C states that limiting warming to 1.5ºC is not physically impossible but would require unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society. There are clear benefits to keeping warming to 1.5 ºC compared to 2 ºC or higher. Every bit of warming matters.
Limiting warming to 1.5ºC can go hand in hand with reaching other world goals such as achieving sustainable development and eradicating poverty.
The Special Report on Climate Change and Land stressed that land is already under growing human pressure and climate change is adding to these pressures. At the same time, keeping global warming to well below 2ºC can be achieved only by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors including land and food.
“The report shows that better land management can contribute to tackling climate change, but land is not the only solution. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors including energy is essential if global warming is to be kept as close as possible to 1.5ºC above pre -industrial levels.”
On 25 September 2019, the IPCC is due to release the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.
Climate Insights
Future Earth and Earth League
Consolidated evidence reinforces human influence as the dominant cause of changes to the Earth system, in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene.
Growing climate impacts increase the risks of crossing critical tipping points. These refer to thresholds that, if crossed, lead to far-reaching, in some cases abrupt and/or irreversible changes.
There is a growing recognition that climate impacts are hitting harder and sooner than climate assessments indicated even a decade ago.
As climate change intensifies, cities are particularly vulnerable to impacts such as heat stress and can play a key role in reducing emissions locally and globally.
Strategies for mitigation and for upscaling adaptive risk management are necessary going forward. Neither is adequate in isolation given the pace of climate change and magnitude of its impacts.
Only immediate and all-inclusive action encompassing: deep de-carbonization complemented by ambitious policy measures, protection and enhancement of carbon sinks and biodiversity, and efforts to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, will enable us to meet the Paris Agreement.
Global Framework for Climate Services
Climate and early warning information services should underpin decision-making on climate action for adaptation.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Members of the Science Advisory Group are
Co-chairs Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO and Dr Leena Srivastava, formerly The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI-SAS) School of Advanced Studies and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), as of 15 November 2019
Science Advisory Group Members:
- Dr Navroz K Dubash Center for Policy Research, New Delhi India
- Dr Brigitte Knopf Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change
- Dr Margaret Leinen Scripps Institute of Oceanography University of California
- Dr Heide Hackmann International Science Council
- Dr Jian Liu UN Environment
- Dr Thelma Krug Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Dr Yacob Mulugetta University College London
- Dr Joeri Rogelj Imperial College London
- Dr Maisa Rojas Corradi University of Chile
- Dr Lisa Schipper University of Oxford
The synthesis report has been compiled by the World Meteorological Organization under the auspices of the Science Advisory Group of the UN Climate Action Summit 2019, to bring together the latest climate science related updates from a group of key global partner organizations – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UN Environment, Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), Global Carbon Project, Future Earth, Earth League and the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).The content of each chapter of this report is attributable to published information from the respective organizations.
Please note that where some of the organisations are referring to emissions, they are only referring to carbon emissions, while others are referring to a combination of GHGs beyond just carbon.
For further information please contact:
Clare Nullis World Meteorological Organization
email cnullis@wmo.int Tel 41797091397
MONACO, Sept 20 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened a meeting on Friday to consider a special report on the ocean and cryosphere – the frozen parts of the planet – its third report this year.
Hosted by the Government of Monaco and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the IPCC session will consider the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which assesses the impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems, consequences for human communities that depend on them, and options for adaptation and climate resilient development. The IPCC is meeting in Monaco from 20 to 23 September 2019.
Last month the IPCC – the world body for assessing the science related to climate change — released another Special Report, Climate Change and Land, and in May it finalized a methodology report – the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the third product this year.
“This week’s deliberations on the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate marks another major milestone for the IPCC,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee.
“The two special reports this year complement last October’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC. Together they constitute the most up-to-date science on climate change as we prepare for the full Sixth Assessment Report,” he said.
The IPCC special reports have transformed public discussions about climate change. The IPCC is considering the new ocean and cryosphere assessment as leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 20 September.
The new report, which will be released on 25 September, subject to approval, will provide important scientific inputs into the Santiago Climate Change Conference (COP25) later this year.
For more information contact :
IPCC Press Office, Email : ipcc-media@wmo.int
Jonathan Lynn, +41 22 730 8066 or Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120
IPCC Working Group II Technical Support Unit tsu@ipcc-wg2.awi.de
Maike Nicolai maike.nicolai@ipcc-wg2.awi.de
Notes for Editors
Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC)
The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) is the third in a series of Special Reports produced in the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Cycle. The report was prepared under the joint scientific leadership of the IPCC Working Groups I and II, with support from the Working Group II Technical Support Unit.
The word “cryosphere” – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the frozen components of the Earth system, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, icebergs and sea ice, ice on lakes and rivers as well as permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.
The Summary for Policymakers presents the key findings of the Special Report, based on the assessment of the available scientific, technical and socio-economic literature relevant to the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate.
The Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate as well as additional information are available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srocc .
The report will be released at a live-streamed press conference in Monaco at 11 :00 local time (CEST) on Wednesday 25 September, subject to approval. Details can be found here :
https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/08/14/media-registration-srocc-p51/
SROCC in numbers
The report was prepared by 104 authors and review editors from 36 countries, 19 of which are developing countries or economies in transition.
31 were women and 73 were men.
6981 publications were referenced in the whole report (Final Draft).
The drafts of the report received 31,176 comments from 80 countries and the EU.
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch
GENEVA, Sept 4 – Authors and Bureau Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be available for interviews following the press conference to present the Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). The press conference will be held at 11.00 a.m. local time on Wednesday 25 September 2019 at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in the Principality of Monaco.
The interviews are expected to take place from around 13.00 onwards local time (CEST). These interviews can be conducted in person at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, or by phone or other remote means for those not attending the press conference in person.
Interviews can also be arranged with authors who will not be in Monaco on 25 September.
A list of experts available for interviews can be found here. The list also indicates the country of the author, languages in which they can be interviewed, and their field of specialization.
Requests for interviews should be made on this form.
Make sure you complete all the fields relevant to your interview so that we are able to process your request according to your needs.
The IPCC expects to receive more requests than can be accommodated following the press conference. To accommodate as many interviews as possible on the day, the IPCC may also suggest an alternative interviewee, based on the needs specified when completing the form. If your interview request cannot be met on 25 September, there will be further opportunities in the following days and weeks.
Please note that only interviews arranged via this process will be considered as confirmed. Any arrangements made directly with IPCC experts may be subject to cancellation.
For information about the press conference including details of accreditation and access to embargo materials, please see this media advisory.
If you are bringing equipment to the press conference and for interviews, there is a garage beneath the Museum (Parking du Chemin des Pêcheurs). Please note there is very limited space for satellite trucks or similar outside the Museum and they would require special permits.
For more information, contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Jonathan Lynn, + 41 22 730 8066, Werani Zabula +41 22 730 8120 or Nina Peeva +41 22 730 8142
Notes for editors
About SROCC
For the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) about 130 scientists from more than 37 countries are assessing the physical processes and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems. It also assesses consequences for human communities and options for people to adapt to climate-related changes for a more sustainable future. SROCC is being prepared under the joint scientific leadership of IPCC Working Groups I and II, and supported by the WG II Technical Support Unit. The report references more than 7,000 scientific publications.
The word “cryosphere” – from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or ice – describes the frozen components of the Earth system, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, icebergs and sea ice, ice on lakes and rivers as well as permafrost and seasonally frozen ground.
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and potential future risks, and to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. It has 195 member states. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to inform policymakers about the state of knowledge on climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences and where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC’s Secretariat.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I (the physical science basis of climate change); Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability); and Working Group III (mitigation of climate change). It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals. All of these are supported by Technical Support Units guiding the production of IPCC assessment reports and other products.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake a shorter assessment of specific cross-disciplinary issues that usually span more than one working group.
About the Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015 it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle.
The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C was released in October 2018. The Methodology Report 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories was released in May 2019. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land was released on 8 August 2019.
The three Working Group contributions to the AR6 will be finalized in 2021 and the AR6 Synthesis Report will be completed in the first half of 2022.
For more information go to www.ipcc.ch
