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

Annex 1

Tasks and Responsibilities for Lead Authors, Coordinating Lead Authors, Contributing Authors, Expert Reviewers and Review Editors of IPCC Reports and Government Focal Points

Annex 2

Procedure on the Use of Literature in IPCC reports

Annex 3

IPCC Protocol for Addressing Possible Errors in IPCC Assessment Reports, Synthesis reports, Special Reports and Methodology Reports

Appendix B to the Principles Governing IPCC Work - Financial Procedures for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
 
Appendix C to the Principles Governing IPCC Work - Rules of Procedures for the Election of the IPCC Bureau and any Task Force Bureau
 
Conflict of Interest Policy
 
Decision Framework for Special Reports, Methodology Reports and Technical Papers
 
IPCC Policy and Process for admitting Observer Organizations
 

Introduction

The writing and review of IPCC reports and other publications is done in accordance with the Procedures for the Preparation, Review, Acceptance, Adoption, Approval and Publication of IPCC Reports contained in Appendix A to the Principles Governing IPCC Work :
 
The procedures, which have been initially adopted by the 15th Session of the IPCC in 1999 and have been regularly reviewed and revised, provide detailed procedures for the preparation of the various types of IPCC material namely
A. IPCC Reports (which include Assessments, Synthesis and Special Reports and their Summaries for Policymakers and Methodology Reports)
B. Technical Papers
C. Supporting Materials
The procedures address all steps leading to the preparation of IPCC material starting with the nomination and selection of authors, preparation of drafts by the writing teams, the review by experts and governments and finally the approval, adoption and acceptance process in plenary sessions. They also contain definitions of IPCC terms and its main bodies and a description of tasks of authors, reviewers, review editors and government focal points.

 

Summary description of the IPCC writing and review process

A first draft of reports is prepared by Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors based on available scientific, technical and socioeconomic information. The IPCC assessment should be supported as far as possible with references from the peer reviewed and internationally available literature. In preparing an IPCC report, Lead Authors should clearly identify disparate views for which there is significant scientific or technical support. Contributing authors may be invited to submit further material.
 
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 - first by experts and then by governments and experts - 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.
 

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

1. "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.
2. "Adoption" is a process of endorsement section by section. It is used for the Synthesis Report and overview chapters of Methodology Reports.
3. "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.

The preparation of Assessment reports, Special reports and Methodology reports follows the same procedures. Simplified procedures apply to Technical Papers, which are based on material already in other IPCC Reports.

 

Consideration of IAC recommendations

Revisions of the IPCC procedures in response to the IAC recommendations were made in particular with respect to criteria for the selection of Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors to enhance the criteria by adding the notion of gender balance, and a balance in the mixture of scientific experts with and without experience in the IPCC process, further enhancing the core principle of the IPCC to address the full range of scientific, technical and socio-economic views, and strengthening procedures on the use of unpublished and non-peer reviewed literature, contained in Annex 2 of Appendix A.
 
Furthermore authors should use improved calibrated uncertainty language that expresses the diversity of the scientifically and technically valid evidence.
 
With respect to the confidentiality of draft IPCC reports, the Panel decided at its 33rd Session that the drafts of IPCC Reports and Technical papers which have been submitted for formal expert and/or government review, the expert and government review comments, as well as the author responses to those comments will be made available on the IPCC website as soon as possible after the acceptance by the Panel and the finalization of the Report. However, the IPCC considers its draft Reports, prior to acceptance, to be pre-decisional, provided in confidence to reviewers, and not for distribution, quotation or citation.
 
For more information, please see revised Appendix A with its 3 Annexes and the compilations of decisions by the Panel in response to the IAC Review [English - Arabic - Chinese - French - Russian - Spanish].

 

IPCC Framework and Criteria for Special Reports, Methodology Reports and Technical Papers

The Panel adopted a Framework and set of criteria for establishing priorities for Special Reports, Methodology Reports and Technical Papers for the period of the Fourth and Fifth Assessment. The aim is to ensure efficient use of resources while addressing user needs. This framework is to be applied in accordance with the "Principles Governing IPCC Work" and is meant to guide, but not prescribe future decisions by the Panel regarding its work programme, noting that decisions regarding the conduct of these reports will be considered on a case by case basis. The framework is reviewed after every assessment cycle and therefore not part of Appendix A to the Principles governing IPCC Work.
 
For more information please see: Decision Framework for Special Reports, Methodology Reports and Technical Papers [English - Arabic - Chinese - French - Russian - Spanish]

The IPCC decided in May 2011 to adopt an IPCC Protocol for Addressing Possible Errors in IPCC Assessment Reports, Synthesis Reports, Special Reports or Methodology Reports. This Protocol is the new Annex 3 of Appendix A.
 
In case of errors, please send a mail to ipccerrorprotocol@wmo.int containing the following information: complete name, telephone, organization, country, publication, chapter, page, line and comments.

The IPCC is funded by regular contributions from its parent 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 senior staff member each for the IPCC Secretariat. Information about contributions received and expenditures incurred is provided by the Secretariat to the Panel. It is contained in the document on programme and budget. The annual budget is decided by the Panel at Plenary Session.
 
Thanks to the contributions received, the IPCC Trust Fund which is administered under the Financial Regulations of the WMO supports the IPCC activities, in particular the participation of developing country experts in the IPCC, organization of meetings as well as publication and translation of IPCC reports. The IPCC Financial Procedures were recently revised to ensure consistency with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
 
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.
 
For more information please see: Financial Procedures for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [English - Arabic - Chinese - French - Russian - Spanish].

The Bureau is elected by the Panel and its term is about five to six years. It corresponds to the cycle for the preparation of an Assessment Report. The Bureau shall reflect balanced geographic representation. Bureau Members should be highly qualified experts in the field. The Bureau shall also reflect balanced geographical representation.
 
Following the review of IPCC processes and procedures carried out by the Inter Academy Council (IAC) in 2010 the Panel has taken a number of decisions including on terms of office and terms of reference for the Bureau, and Conflict of Interest Policy which will be reflected in revised Rules of Procedure currently under preparation. Here is more information on the decisions taken during the 32nd, 33rd and 34th Sessions with respect to the recommendation bythe IAC.
 
For more information, please see Rules of Procedures for the Election of the IPCC Bureau and Any Task Force Bureau.

In response to the recommendations ariding from InterAcademy Council (IAC) Review the IPCC decided on a Conflict of Interest (CoI) Policy that covers applies to senior IPCC leadership, other members of the IPCC Bureau and any Task Force bureau, authors with responsibility for report content, Review Editors and staff of the Technical Support Units. Staff of the IPCC Secretariat is subject to disclosure and ethics policies of WMO and UNEP respectively.
 
It was furthermore decided to work toward early implementation of the Policy with a view to bringing all those covered by the Policy within its remit as early as possible during the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) cycle. This would include ensuring the transition of all three Working Groups of their interim CoI policies to the approved IPCC CoI Policy.
 
Since work started on the AR5, Working Groups (WGs) I and II and the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) have proactively implemented, and Working Group III is in the process of developing, interim policies that are broadly consistent with the IPCC CoI Policy. WG I, WG II and WG III authors, as well as TFI experts, understand that compliance with the interim policy is part of the requirement to participate in the AR5 cycle.
 
The IPCC has throughout its existence taken care of avoiding conflicts of interest in the selection of its Bureau members, Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors, i.a. by guaranteeing in its principles and procedures that a group of Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors for a section or chapter of a report reflects the need to aim for a range of views, expertise and geographical representation.
 
For more information please refer to the decisions taken by the 33rd and 34th Session of the IPCC on the Conflict of Interest Policy and the Conflict of Interest Policy [English - Arabic - Chinese - French - Russian - Spanish].

 

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 for the purpose, and the admittance is 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. UN bodies and organizations are admitted as observers if they request so. The IPCC has at present 29 observer organizations among UN bodies and organizations, and 67 non-UN observers (see list of IPCC observer organizations).
 
The IPCC has a "Policy and process for admitting observer organizations".