Working Group I The Physical Science Basis

Working Group I assesses the physical science of climate change.

Latest

IPCC meets in Latvia to draft outline of Special Report on Climate Change and Cities — GENEVA, April 12 – Over 140 experts from 65 countries will meet next week in Riga, Latvia, to draft the outline of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Special Report on Climate Change and Cities. The scoping meeting, scheduled Read more

IPCC agrees on the set of scientific reports for the seventh assessment cycle — ISTANBUL, Jan 20 - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will deliver a set of reports assessing the latest climate change science during the seventh assessment cycle. More than 300 delegates from 120 governments decided on the IPCC’s scientific Read more

IPCC wraps up elections in Nairobi — NAIROBI, July 29 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) completed its elections in Nairobi this morning. During the four-day long 59th Session, the member governments elected the new IPCC Bureau comprising 34 members, including the new IPCC Chair Read more

The IPCC Working Group I examines the physical science underpinning past, present, and future climate change.

Scientists all over the world regularly assess the rich body of scientific literature, contributing to an ever-strengthening understanding of how the climate system works, and how it is changing in response to human activity.

The scientific topics assessed by Working Group I include: greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere; temperature changes in the air, land and ocean; the hydrological cycle and changing precipitation (rain and snow) patterns; extreme weather; glaciers and ice sheets; oceans and sea level; biogeochemistry and the carbon cycle; and climate sensitivity. The Working Group I assessment combines observations, palaeoclimate, process studies, theory and modelling into a complete picture of the climate system and how it is changing, including the attribution (or causes) of change.

The Working Group I assessment provides scientific information relevant for the global community to meet the challenge of climate change. As well as the global scale, Working Group I looks at variability and changes happening at a regional level, which is closely tied to how impacts and risks to human and natural systems are changing over time. This is, in turn, relates to the assessment of Working Group II and the need to design effective climate change adaptation policies. Other important policy dimensions of Working Group I are the assessment of the amount of carbon emissions compatible with climate and energy targets; interactions between land and the climate; and links between climate and air quality. All of these aspects are closely connected with the assessment of Working Group III and strategies to mitigate against the impacts of climate change.

Reports

These are published materials composed of the full scientific and technical assessment of climate change, generally in three volumes, one for each of the Working Groups of the IPCC, plus a Synthesis Report. Each of the Working Group volumes is composed of individual chapters, an optional Technical Summary and a Summary for Policymakers.

 
Special Report

Climate Change and Land

August 2019
Special Report

Global Warming of 1.5°C

October 2018
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Resources

Resources related to the preparation of the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report

Document
Date
File size
AR6 WGI FOD Guidance Note
April 29, 2019
117 KB
IPCC WGI Visual Style Guide (Updated Version June 2022)
June 1, 2022
3.8 MB
Climate Outreach IPCC Communications Handbook
November 13, 2019
2.9 MB
Role of Authors
November 13, 2019
914 KB
Role of Review Editors
November 13, 2019
90 KB
Code of Conduct
November 13, 2019
394 KB
Guidance note on Confidentiality during the preparation of IPCC reports
November 13, 2019
76 KB
Guidance note on communication and interacting with the media as an IPCC author
November 13, 2019
386 KB
Guidance note for Lead Authors of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on Consistent Treatment of Uncertainties
November 13, 2019
3.3 MB
Annex A to Guidance note for Lead Authors of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on Consistent Treatment of Uncertainties
November 13, 2019
214 KB
Expert Meeting on Regional Assessment - Meeting Report
November 13, 2019
1.4 MB
Expert Meeting on Short-lived Climate Forcers (SLCF) - Meeting Report
November 13, 2019
4.7 MB

Activities

One of the main IPCC activities is the preparation of comprehensive Assessment Reports about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response strategies. The IPCC also produces Special Reports, which are an assessment on a specific issue, and Methodology Reports, which provide practical guidelines for the preparation of greenhouse gas inventories.

 
UNFCCC

IPCC at COP28

November 30, 2023
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News

 
Vacancies

Science Coordinator in the Working Group I Technical Support Unit

Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is filling the position of Science Coordinator in the Working …

September 2024
Press Release

IPCC calls for nominations of authors for 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers

GENEVA, Aug 9 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is calling for nominations of the authors for the …

August 2024
Press Release

IPCC calls for nominations of authors for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities

GENEVA, Aug 9 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing the science related to …

August 2024
Press Release

IPCC approves outlines of the first two reports in the seventh assessment cycle

SOFIA, Aug 2 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at its 61st Plenary Session in Sofia, Bulgaria, has …

August 2024
Speeches

Welcome Remarks by the IPCC Chair at the opening of the 61st Session of the IPCC

Sofia, 27 July 2024 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Distinguished Delegates, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, As the Chair of the Intergovernmental …

July 2024
Media Advisory

IPCC meets in Bulgaria this July to consider the detailed timeline for the reports in the seventh assessment cycle

GENEVA, July 24 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will meet for its 61st Plenary Session in the Bulgarian …

July 2024
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Co-Chairs

 

Robert Vautard

Co-Chair, Working Group I
France

Xiaoye Zhang

Co-Chair, Working Group I
China
 

Vice Chairs

 

Edvin Aldrian

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Indonesia

Nana Ama Browne Klutse

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Ghana

Ines Camilloni

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Argentina

Aïda Diongue-Niang

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Senegal

Sherilee Harper

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Canada

Maheshwar Rupakheti

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Nepal

Sonia Seneviratne

Vice-Chair, Working Group I
Switzerland
 

TSU Staff

 

Clotilde Péan

Head of TSU-Working Group I
France

Gerrit Hansen

Senior Advisor, Strategy and Cooperations
France

Ivonne Albarus

Senior Science Officer
France

Junting Zhong

Science Officer
China

Lina Sitz

Senior Data Scientist
Italy

Maxime Chambonnet

IT Officer
France

Elisabeth Lonnoy

Project Assistant
France
 

Contact

Contact information for IPCC Working Group I Technical Support Unit:

Email: ipcc-wg1.tsu@universite-paris-saclay.fr