GENEVA, 23 May — TIME has named Panmao Zhai and Valérie Masson-Delmotte to this year’s TIME100 list, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes will appear in the June 6 / June 13 double issue of TIME, available here.
Valérie Masson-Delmotte and Panmao Zhai are the Co-Chairs of the IPCC Working Group I for the latest IPCC cycle – the Sixth Assessment cycle. Most recently they have led the development the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report on the physical science basis of climate change. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report comprises also of the contributions from Working Groups II and III and a Synthesis Report.
“This selection really highlights the increasing recognition and
understanding of climate change around the world, and the importance
of the IPCC’s recently issued three Working Group reports to inform policy,” said Panmao Zhai in reaction to the announcement.
The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report on the physical science basis of climate change was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution that looks at impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities was launched on 28 February this year. The Working Group III contribution on the mitigation of climate change was released on 4 April 2022.
“I am very glad that Panmao and I, together, can give a face to their extraordinary work to assess and communicate the state of knowledge for our changing climate, related risks, and options for action,” added Masson-Delmotte.
The TIME100 list, now in its nineteenth
year, recognizes the impact, innovation and
achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.
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. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. It has 195 member states.
Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, experts volunteer their time as IPCC authors 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 II, 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 estimating emissions and removals of greenhouse gases.
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.