GENEVA, Oct 11 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), currently working on its next comprehensive report, the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), will open the Working Group II contribution for a first review by experts from 18 October to 13 December 2019.
Working Group II assesses the science related to impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change.
Review is an essential part of preparing IPCC reports. It ensures that IPCC reports cover the most up to date scientific, technical and socio-economic findings, and are representative of a broad range of independent expertise from developed and developing countries.
“We invite experts from all over the world to participate in the review of the IPCC Working Group II assessment of the impacts of climate change, the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, and options for adapting to it,” said Debra Roberts and Hans-Otto Pörtner, the Co-Chairs of Working Group II, in a joint statement.
All IPCC reports undergo two stages of review. A First Order Draft is reviewed by experts. Following the expert review, authors develop a Second Order Draft based on the comments received. This draft then undergoes a second review by both governments and experts. Authors will prepare a Final Draft based on the comments received during the second review. The Final Draft is distributed to governments at the time of the final government review of the Summary for Policymakers.
Experts interested in serving as Expert Reviewers and providing scientific comments on the First Order Draft of the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report can register from 11 October to midnight CET on 6 December 2019 at https://apps.ipcc.ch/comments/ar6wg2/fod/register.php.
To register for the review, a self-declaration of expertise is required. Once the registration is complete, and before accessing the draft, reviewers agree to the terms of the review, including the confidentiality of the draft and review materials, which are provided solely for the purpose of the review. The drafts may not be cited, quoted or distributed.
The Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report will be finalized in 2021.
For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office, ipcc-media@wmo.int, +41 22 730 8120 or +41 22 730 8142
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. In the same year, the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC.
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 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.
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.