IPCC presents findings and activities in Saudi Arabia

It is also presenting its work programme for the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) cycle at the event hosted by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The event will be opened by Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, KACST President and Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. Press conference will take place at 11.30 am on 19 September at KACST.

IPCC Bureau members and authors are participating in workshops as part of the two-day outreach event, attended by policymakers, practitioners, scientists, civil society, business and media representatives from Saudi Arabia and the region.

The event will raise awareness about the latest IPCC report, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), completed in 2014, which was a crucial input to the Paris Agreement on climate change reached in December 2015.

“The region is vulnerable to climate change but various adaptation and mitigation options exist to make society more resilient and create opportunities for a sustainable future,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC. “This timely conference will provide valuable guidance to policymakers and practitioners on addressing the challenges of climate change.”

Scientists are also presenting the outlines for the next comprehensive scientific assessment of climate change, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which were approved by the IPCC’s 195 member governments at the latest session of the Panel that took place in Montreal, Canada, on 6-10 September.

“Climate change is a highly important issue for Saudi Arabia. KACST currently coordinates research efforts to address climate change challenges, such as greenhouse gases emission including carbon dioxide capture and utilization, energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, the President of KACST. “This event will be an opportunity for researchers to engage with the international community and enhance the dialogue on future efforts to combat climate change.”

IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee said that policymakers in the region could draw on IPCC assessments to achieve sustainable development pathways.

“We would like to see the research community in Saudi Arabia and other developing countries tackle various issues identified by the outlines of the AR6 and provide us with scientific literature that can feed into the new and future assessments,” Lee added.

For more information, contact:
Webpages of the event: http://bit.ly/2h90678 and http://bit.ly/2wiYTob
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Nina Peeva, +41 22 730 8142
Follow IPCC on  Facebook, Twitter @ipcc_ch, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Notes for editors

What is the IPCC?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the world body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was set up by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.

IPCC assessments provide governments at all levels with scientific information 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 to guarantee objectivity and transparency.

The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to tell policymakers what we know and don’t know about the risks related to climate change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences of opinion, 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 members of the Panel are its 195 member governments. They work by consensus to endorse the reports of the IPCC and set its procedures and budget in plenary meetings of the Panel.

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 measuring emissions and removals.

IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake an assessment of cross-disciplinary issues that span more than one working group and are shorter and more focused than the main assessments.

Sixth Assessment Cycle

At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 43rd Session in April 2016, it decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report to update guidelines on national greenhouse gas inventories, and AR6.

The first of these special reports, to be finalized in October 2018, is Global Warming of 1.5ºC, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5ºC 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.

The Methodology Report, entitled 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, will be delivered in May 2019.

In September 2019 the IPCC will also finalize two Special Reports: the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, and 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.

The three working group contributions to AR6 will be released in 2021, and the Synthesis Report in April 2022.