More than 230 experts from over 70 countries will gather at the Scoping Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 9 to 13 December to draft the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Working Group contributions are the three key pillars of the IPCC’s periodical assessment reports. They include the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change.
“This is the critical first step in shaping the contents of our next report assessing the science related to climate change. In this meeting, experts will consider the scientific substance and draft the overall structure of the three Working Group contributions for governments to consider and agree upon in the Panel’s upcoming Plenary scheduled for February next year,” said IPCC Chair Jim Skea.
The Panel decided to produce its Seventh Assessment Report in January 2024 during its 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The Seventh Assessment Report comprises the three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report which the IPCC decided should be ready in 2029. The Synthesis Report, which will draw together findings from the three Working Group contributions and a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, will be the subject of a further scoping meeting.
The full set of reports assessing the latest climate change science during the seventh assessment cycle includes the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers, a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage and a revision and an update of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on Impacts and Adaptation including adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines. The latter will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
The Seventh Assessment Report will assess scientific findings that have been published since the completion of the Sixth Assessment Report in March 2023.
The Sixth Assessment Report clearly stated that in 2020 global warming reached 1.1°C, above pre-industrial level, driven by more than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use. This has resulted in more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world. Impacts are expected to intensify with every fraction of additional warming, particularly for the most vulnerable communities, accounting for 3.3 – 3.6 billion people. This report underlined the urgency of transformative adaptation and immediate emissions reductions. It also noted that there are tools, such as renewable energy, and options across all sectors to limit warming to 1.5°C, but that progress needs to accelerate as the chances of achieving that goal are becoming increasingly thin.
Following the AR7 Scoping Meeting, IPCC Bureau Members will take part in a symposium on bridging climate science and policy to accelerate climate action organised by the government of Malysia, the British High Commission in Malaysia and the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
For more information, please contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516 or Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120
Notes for Editors
What is 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 measuring emissions and removals.
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.
About the Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Taskforce Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provides direct scientific input to the first global stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The Working Group III contribution, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was released on 4 April 2022 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distills and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including videos about the IPCC and video recordings from outreach events conducted as webinars or live-streamed events.
Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our YouTube channel.
Upon the invitation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a group of past and present scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting ICJ judges in The Hague on 26 November to enhance the Court’s understanding of the key scientific findings which the IPCC has delivered through its periodic assessment reports covering the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
The Court’s invitation follows the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 77/276 of 29 March 2023 and the General Assembly’s request to ICJ for an advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.
The IPCC scientists, led by IPCC Chair Jim Skea, include Robert Vautard (AR7 Working Group I Co-Chair), Nana Ama Browne Klutse (AR7 Working Group I Vice-Chair), Valérie Masson-Delmotte (AR6 Co-Chair of the Working Group I), Friederike Otto (AR6 Working Group I Chapter 11 Lead Author), Tannecia Stephenson (AR6 Working Group I Chapter 10 Lead Author), Aditi Mukherji (AR6 Working Group II Chapter 4 Coordinating Lead Author), Alaa Al Khourdajie (AR6 Working Group III Contributing Author) and William Lamb (AR6 Working Group III Contributing Author).
COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan, 18 November 2024
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Yours excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentleman, it is my privilege as Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC – to address this important session. I recall participating in the same session at COP 27, and I very much appreciate this further opportunity to contribute.
I want to focus most of my remarks on the opportunities – and indeed the benefits – of near-term action. But first, a few words on urgency. We are perilously close to 1.5ºC warming, and indeed it may be that this level is exceeded, albeit temporarily, in 2024. Beyond this point many of the risks associated with climate change escalate from what we have called “moderate” risks – those that are detectable and attributable to climate change – to “high risks”, that is risks that are severe and widespread. And, if carry on as are, we could reach 3 ºC warming during this century which will see severe impacts, significant irreversibility and a limited ability to adapt.
Carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere; every incremental tonne adds to global warming. If we continue with currently implemented policies, we are likely, by 2030, to have placed limiting warming to 1.5ºC with low or no overshoot, even in the long run, beyond reach. Even the most ambitious emission reductions beyond 2030 may not allow us to recover lost ground. The emissions pathway matters, not just targets for individual years.
So that, in short, is the scientific case as to why near-term ambition matters. Now let me turn to opportunities.
The argument proceeds like this. First, it has been demonstrated that options are available in the near-term to reduce emissions. Second, the potential co-benefits of these options far exceed trade-offs with other development goals. Third, we have the policy tools and means to exercise these options.”
On the tangible options, I risk repeating some of my remarks from two years ago, but the IPCC identified many options in all sectors that could halve global GHG emissions in 2030 at costs of less than $100/t CO2eq. More than half of that potential costs less than $20/tCO2eq and some measures would pay for themselves. The largest contributions to the potential lie in energy, and agriculture, forestry and land use (AFOLU).
Within energy, by far the largest potential lies with renewable energy, particularly wind and solar each of which have an emissions reduction potential of around 4 Gt CO2eq per year or 7 per cent of total emissions. The costs of both have fallen dramatically in recent years. A substantial part of that renewable potential can be achieved at a negative cost. Take-up so far has been concentrated in Europe, North America and China. Significant take-up in other parts of the world requires strengthening power grids and lowering the cost of capital.
There is a further significant potential from reducing fugitive methane emissions from fossil fuel systems. Given that methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, sign-up to the Global Methane Pledge could bring rapid results in terms of avoided warming in the near-term. Other context-specific opportunities with a smaller potential in the near-term include more longer-established renewable energy technologies, nuclear for those countries which choose to use it, and carbon capture and storage.
AFOLU has a similarly large near-term potential. The biggest opportunities lie in: reduced conversion of forests and other ecosystems; ecosystem restoration, afforestation and reforestation; and carbon sequestration in agriculture, for example through soil management. Within the food system, dietary shifts and the reduction of waste could also pay a role, though the costs cannot be characterised.
There are also opportunities across the demand sectors,buildings, transport and industry. For buildings, and even more so for transport, options are available at a negative cost. Enhanced efficiency, and switching to alternative energy carriers, notably electricity are the key measures. The industrial potential comes at a higher cost and in the near-term is dominated by energy efficiency, materials efficiency through circular economy approaches, and fuel switching.
The pre-2030 period is also a time to prepare for measures required in the longer term as innovations emerge and existing capital stocks of equipment that supply and use energy – power stations, vehicles, space heating and cooling equipment – come to be replaced.
In terms of co-benefits, the IPCC has identified multiple synergies between mitigation actions and the sustainable development goals. They are varied and depend on local circumstances, but let me mention just a few: air quality and consequent health benefits from electrification of transport; more affordable energy by investing in energy efficiency; decent jobs and sustainable growth from the expansion of new industries; more sustainable cities and communities though investment in blue and green infrastructure; and more sustainable agriculture and land use through better management of agricultural activities and soils.
The evidence is that we do actually know how to bring about these outcomes. Policies already implemented have avoided emissions of several Gt CO2eq, have resulted in sustained emissions reductions in some countries, and have “bent the curve” globally. Emissions may continue to rise but, without policies already in place, would have been even higher.
Climate legislation now covers more than half of global emissions; more than 20% of global emissions are covered by some form of carbon pricing. Carbon pricing has a role to play in sectors such as power generation and industry, but there is a wider policy toolset available. In sectors such as buildings and transport, where there are millions if not billions of actors, markets are less efficient and different instruments – regulations, standards, sunset requirements on obsolete technologies, information, advice and education, and interventions addressing skills, training, and supply chains – will be needed. The same considerations apply to agriculture and land use given the predominance of smallholders in many parts of the world.
And, of course, aspirations will not be achieved unless financial flows reflect ambition. Investment gaps for mitigation are larger in developing countries. But we have demonstrated that there is sufficient global capital to close investment gaps, and that there are means to redirect capital to climate action in the context of economic vulnerabilities and indebtedness facing developing countries.
Let me conclude with some wider remarks. Paragraph 1 of the principles governing IPCC’s work require us to concentrate our activities, inter alia, on actions in support of the UNFCCC. With that in mind, I have constantly reminded IPCC authors that the Paris Agreement has three goals – the long-term temperature goal, the goal on adaptation and resilience, and the goal on financial flows. These goals are interlocking – no single goal can be realised unless there is progress on them all. I will continue to press this case as we scope out the content of the Seventh Assessment Cycle report, as we recruit authors, and as the reports are drafted.
We will be emphasising adaptation and resilience in this cycle – there will be revised and updated technical guidelines on impacts and adaptation, emphasising indicators, metrics and methodologies. And our mitigation work must be framed holistically in the context of all three goals of the Paris Agreement, notably, that on financial flows.
Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Once again it has been a privilege to address you. Let me conclude with an assurance that the IPCC stands ready to support you in your work and to generate actionable findings in support of your work to combat climate change and alleviate the worst effects.
Thank you.
Baku, Azerbaijan
12 November 2024
Your Excellencies, Dear delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen
As the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC – it is an honour to address the High-Level Segment of COP 29.
Climate change is no longer an abstract threat for a distant future. It has been unfolding in front of our eyes.
In the 12 months since the last COP in the UAE, people across Asia and in the Sahel have endured extreme temperatures; communities in the Americas have fought against devastating wildfires; and flood defenses were put to the test in Central Europe when confronted with intense rainfall, not to mention more recent events in Valencia. These are only a few examples. Many people have lost their homes, their livelihoods – and their lives. Communities have been shaken to their core. And global warming is unequivocally caused by human activities, through emissions of greenhouse gases that arise from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, and lifestyle patterns.
The extremes we are witnessing have been aggravated by human-induced climate change. This is the new normal. Imagine what is in store in the coming decades, if we do not act swiftly and decisively. With every fraction of a degree of global warming, we face greater threats. Children born today will not know a world without climate change. The IPCC has shown that we, and furthermore they, will live in a world marked by more intense storms, exceptional heatwaves, devastating floods and droughts, a world where food chains are disrupted, and where diseases reach new countries.
Today, our chances of limiting warming to 1.5 °C are hanging on a very slender
thread. The recent UNEP Gap Report concluded that global emissions would need
to fall by 7.5 per cent per year through to 2035 to return us to a 1.5 °C
pathway. If we delay more ambitious action to 2030, this becomes an
unprecedented 15 per cent per year. Even limiting warming to 2 °C is at risk.
This does not have to be the case. As the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report demonstrated, we have the know-how, tools and financial resources to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. A world where transport is no longer polluting, our cities are green, and we have transitioned away from fossil fuels. We have shown that carbon pricing, regulations and other interventions have already resulted in gigatonnes of avoided emissions. More can be achieved if policies and measures are scaled up and deployed more widely. Furthermore, we have shown that climate action can contribute to other development goals, such as improving air quality and human health.
With climate change already on us, we must address adaptation. The IPCC will be paying particular attention to this in the coming cycle. Most adaptation so far is fragmented, small in scale, incremental, sector-specific, and focused more on planning rather than implementation. Hard limits to adaptation, as well as soft limits caused by lack of resources and institutional capacity, are being reached in some sectors and regions. But we can take measures to address the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity and pollution. We can increase our resilience to the impacts of climate change by leveraging decision-support tools and implementing more early warning systems.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished excellencies, the IPCC will continue to provide timely, robust, policy-relevant information to support accelerated adaptation efforts and cuts in emissions. But, the resolution of this global crisis is now in your hands.
Decisions made here at COP 29 will shape the legacy we leave behind to our children and grandchildren, and for the billions of people who deserve a livable planet.
Thank you.
11 November 2024, Baku, Azerbaijan
Check against delivery.
Dear delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen
As the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC – I am pleased to make a few remarks at the opening session of Earth Information Day to speak about the connection between Earth Observations and the IPCC.
As the impacts of climate change become increasingly visible, Earth observation plays a foundational role in advancing climate science, which is at the core of IPCC assessments.
In the Sixth Assessment Cycle which concluded 18 months ago, our Working Group I report on the physical science basis included chapters on: the Changing State of the Climate System; the Earth’s Energy Budget, Climate Feedbacks, and Climate Sensitivity; and Human Influence on the Climate System; as well as several others, all of which were driven by observational data. Observation is one of the pillars on which rests our striking conclusion that “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land”.
Yet, Earth Observation goes beyond Working I on the physical science basis; it is also relevant for: Working II on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; Working Group III on the mitigation of climate change; and, the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories, or the TFI.
The scoping meeting for the Seventh Assessment Cycle which will take place in Malaysia next month will propose the outlines of the three Working Group reports, to be agreed by governments in February 2025. While ahead of the scoping meeting it is not possible to talk about the content of the reports, assuredly, it is certain that Earth Observation will play a critical role in the assessed literature.
Turning to Working Group II, observation systems can support vulnerable regions and communities, particularly in coastal regions, and address developments in land use, agriculture, and human settlement. The upcoming IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, already scoped, will cover Urban observation and modelling tools for monitoring and evaluation for sectors and unaccounted sources within a chapter on Actions and solutions to reduce urban risks and emissions. Local-scale studies, in-situ and remotely sensed observations, high-resolution model outputs, and databases providing city-relevant data on emissions, impacts and hazards are available to support this report.
Importantly, Working Group II will also produce revised and updated technical guidelines on impacts and adaptation, including adaptation indicators, metrics and methodologies. This will help progress work on the Global Goal on Adaptation. Earth Observation can indeed play a unique role in monitoring progress. When the revised and updated guidelines are scoped at next month’s meeting in Malaysia, giving consideration to the observability of adaptation indicators and metrics will be essential. And Earth Observation also underpins Early Warning Systems which play a critical role in effective adaptation strategies.
Turning to the world of emission inventories and mitigation, the TFI will produce a Methodology report on short-lived climate forcers by late 2027. This report will cover nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide, ammonia, black carbon and organic carbon, as well as primary particulate matter relevant for radiative forcing, though not methane. Earth observation has a potentially critical role to -play in monitoring emissions of short-lived climate forcers. The Methodology Report will be developed in the context of recent improvements in observations of the composition of the atmosphere through expansions of existing surface observation and through in situ measurements such as aircraft campaigns.
In September 2022 the IPCC convened an Expert Meeting on The Use of Atmospheric Observation Data in Emission Inventories. It considered: the potential for using atmospheric observations to verify GHG inventories; comparisons of national inventories and reverse-modelled emission estimates based on atmospheric observations that have led to improvements in bottom-up inventories; emerging observational datasets that could be used to test and verify IPCC default emission factors; and spatial and temporal gridding of national greenhouse gas emission inventories to allow comparison with atmospheric observation data. The very useful report of the Expert meeting is available on the TFI website. This is an emerging area and will receive continuing attention within IPCC.
The TFI has also been mandated by the Panel to produce a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage by late 2027. The role of Earth observations in estimating relevant emissions and removals is within its scope.
To conclude, it is obviously beyond IPCC’s remit to conduct Earth Observation, but Earth Observation activities remain intimately connected to IPCC’s core mission.
I thank you for the opportunity to make a few remarks here today and look forward to further engagement.
Thank you.
GENEVA, Nov 07 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will have a strong presence at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP29 runs from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The IPCC Chair, Jim Skea, will address the opening of the High-Level Segment for Heads of State and Government during the World Leaders Climate Action Summit on 12 November. On the first day of the conference, he will deliver remarks during the opening of the mandated Earth Information Day event. Among other engagements, he will deliver a scene-setting presentation at the opening of the 2024 Annual High-Level Ministerial Round Table on the pre-2030 Ambition scheduled for 18 November. During the COP29 the IPCC Chair is scheduled to meet with ministers, heads of delegations, and representatives from various organizations, constituencies, groups, and constituted bodies of the UNFCCC.
The IPCC Secretary Abdalah Mokssit will deliver a statement at the opening plenary of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). He will also take part in various events organised in the “Science for Climate Action” pavilion located in COP29 Blue Zone and hosted jointly with the World Meteorological Organization and the MERI Foundation.
IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Bart Vanden Hurk will speak at the Special High-Level Event of the Leader’s Summit entitled “Adverse Impacts of Climate Change on the Decline of Water Basins” on 13 November.
Under the UNFCCC’s official programme of side events, the IPCC’s event will focus on the Panel’s work during the seventh assessment cycle, including the discussion about knowledge gaps from the perspective of the IPCC’s three Working Groups. The side event is scheduled for 16:45 to 18:15 on 14 November in Side Event Room 1.
The “Science for Climate Action” pavilion will have a rich program of approximately 40 scientific panels and events. IPCC´s contribution to the programme is designed to serve as a “toolbox” for the delegations and participants of the conference regarding IPCC’s work in the seventh assessment cycle. IPCC will host eight events spread across two weeks, organized around key thematic areas such as the urban, local and regional focus of the Seventh Assessment, planning for the Seventh Assessment Report, as well as new methodologies under the IPCC Taskforce on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, including updates on the IPCC inventory software.
Detailed information about the IPCC events at the COP29 pavilion can be found here.
To request an interview with the IPCC Chair, Vice-Chairs, Co-Chairs, or other IPCC experts present at COP29, please email ipcc-media@wmo.int.
For more information, please contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516 or Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120
Notes for editors
What is 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 measuring emissions and removals.
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.
About the Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Taskforce Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its 60th Session (January 2024, Istanbul), the Panel agreed to produce the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report, a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers. During this cycle, the Panel will also deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provides direct scientific input to the first global stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The Working Group III contribution, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was released on 4 April 2022 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distills and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including videos about the IPCC and video recordings from outreach events conducted as webinars or live-streamed events.
Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our YouTube channel.
Singapore, 24 October 2024 – Working Group II and Working Group III Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Winston Chow from Singapore and Joy Pereira from Malaysia called today for more climate experts from the South-East Asian region to contribute to the IPCC reports in the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle.
Speaking at a scientific community dialogue in Singapore, the two South-East Asian Co-Chairs addressed the gathered climate experts, researchers, and practitioners from Southeast Asia and informed them about the IPCC processes. They also discussed how regional experts can contribute to the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).
The representation of diverse perspectives and scientific expertise from all regions, including South-East Asia, is critical as IPCC comprehensive assessment reports continue to inform decision makers at all levels.
The IPCC is at the beginning of its seventh assessment cycle and is committed to bringing on board world’s top scientists, researchers, and experts including from across the South-East Asian region to discuss key points for engagement to include perspectives of developing countries, less development countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS), and cities in the region.
“Important climate information from Southeast Asia is underrepresented in global scientific assessments, and we encourage more researchers from this part of the world to participate in the process,” said Working Group II Co-Chair Winston Chow.
“They can help in assessing climate science and shaping action for our rapidly developing cities and for our most climate-vulnerable communities and ecosystems.”
Diversity of authors is also key to a comprehensive IPCC report.
Today’s dialogue in Singapore is in preparation for the upcoming call for nominations of authors to work on the three Working Groups contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report. This call for author nominations is scheduled to open in 2025.
This regional hybrid event also coincided with the intensifying impacts of climate change in Southeast Asia, including rising sea levels, extreme weather events, heatwaves, droughts, floods and severe storms in recent months. How regional stakeholders develop effective climate mitigation approaches to complement climate adaptation measures will be critical and topical.
“This is the decade of climate action. Science can show pathways to solutions that are operational and feasible in this region. They are critical if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” said Working Group III Co-Chair Joy Pereira.
This dialogue took place on the margins of the Task Group on Data (TG-DATA) Support for Climate Change Assessments meeting that is being held at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore from 21 to 25 October. This Task Group provides guidance to the IPCC’s Data Distribution Centre on curation, traceability, stability, availability and transparency of data and scenarios related to the IPCC reports.
For media inquiries, interview requests, or additional information about the dialogue, please contact:
Qiyun Woo, Working Group II Senior Communications Manager
media@ipccwg2.org
or IPCC Secretariat on ipcc-media@wmo.int
NOTES TO 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 measuring emissions and removals.
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.
About the Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023.
At the IPCC’s first plenary session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report, namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch. The website includes outreach materials including videos about the IPCC and video recordings from outreach events conducted as webinars or live-streamed events. Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our YouTube channel.
Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is filling the position of
Science Coordinator in the Working Group I Technical Support Unit
The position is located in the Paris area, at Gif-sur-Yvette (France).
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide policymakers with rigorous, transparent, and objective scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. The IPCC is now undertaking its Seventh Assessment (AR7) cycle. The IPCC Working Group I assesses the physical science underpinning past, present, and future climate change. The Working Group I Technical Support Unit (TSU) provides scientific, technical, operational and communications support that underpin and implement the Working Group I assessment.
The Technical Support Unit
The TSU works at the unique IPCC interface between science and policy in the provision of the climate knowledge and information that is relevant for policy needs and decision making. The team is responsible for facilitating and implementing the assessment process undertaken by the author teams and overseen by the Working Group I Bureau. We are seeking someone who is highly motivated to join a team that spans different areas of expertise including climate sciences (observations, climate processes, global and regional climate modeling), visual design and communication, digital information development and management, and international project management. The team is hosted by Université Paris-Saclay and located in the facilities of Ecole normale supérieure (ENS) Paris-Saclay in the Paris area.
The Science Coordinator Role
The Science Coordinator will join the Working Group I TSU Science Team which is comprised of Senior Science Officers and Science Officers at a post-doctoral level. He/she will mentor the team and coordinate the scientific activities within the TSU. The role will also include supervision of projects undertaken with students and interns on science analysis.
The Science Coordinator will be responsible for the delivery and coordination of science-related activities of the TSU throughout the preparation, review and completion phases of the products of Working Group I during the Seventh Assessment cycle (in particular the Working Group I Assessment Report and the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities). He/she will assist the development of the assessment reports and their production in due time, the preparation of the Technical Summary and the Summary for Policymakers, and the synthesis of the assessment findings therein.
The successful candidate will assist the Working Group I Co-Chairs (Robert Vautard and Xiaoye Zhang) in preparing the physical science elements for the reports and will support the work of the AR7 authors. He/she will monitor scientific literature, provide regular reviews, and develop a strategy for helping authors’ assessment work (incl. potentially using A.I.). This includes participation to science meetings and conferences, outreach activities, and representing Working Group I Co-Chairs. He/she will facilitate the development of a network of regional scientists and liaise with the Working Group I Vice-Chairs and science staff of the other TSUs. The Science Coordinator will report to the Head of TSU and to the Co-Chairs of Working Group I. He/she will be supported by a team of science officers (2-4).
Requirements
We seek candidates that bring a broad understanding of state-of-the-art physical climate science, international research and coordinated activities, demonstrated experience of team work, as well as international experience. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic in supporting a high impact and rigorous Working Group I assessment and promote the value of information on the physical basis of climate change and its accessibility and usability by different communities around the world.
Attributes
Application
The position is a fixed term contract from Université Paris-Saclay for 3 years with a possibility of extension for the duration of the IPCC Seventh Assessment cycle planned until 2029.
Please send your application consisting of a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, and contact details of two referees, to Clotilde Péan, Head of the Working Group I TSU. The position will remain opened until it is filled.
Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is filling the position of
Deadline: 15 September 2024
We are looking for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Support Officer to provide AI support to the Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its Technical Support Unit (TSU). When is this a job for you? Well especially if you (1) want to make global impact and (2) if have experience in applying AI in academic settings, including literature search and classification using AI-based text-mining and processing techniques.
Do you want to advice and support the authors of the IPCC reports with your experience? And can you assist our TSU IT officer in helping authors and TSU people to work with our IT environment? Please read on!
What can you expect as Artificial Intelligence Support Officer?
Your goal is to provide support in applying Artificial Intelligence to compile and review the Working Group II (WGII) reports.
Your vison and expertise in applying AI, aims to enhance the report preparation processes in various ways. It automates the search for relevant publications (including peer-reviewed scientific papers and non-peer-reviewed sources like technical reports) and their classification. AI can also help processing review comments, clustering research articles, producing topographic maps and interactive study databases, and performing consistency checks of key results. In short: applying AI properly can benefit the whole team in reaching our goal to deliver a useful series of assessment reports.
Your main task are
As AI support officer you collaborate with many stakeholders and colleagues. For example, AI support may also be arranged in the TSUs of the other IPCC Working Groups. It is important to maintain close working relationships with these colleagues. You also work together with the IT officer in the Singapore Support Unit of Working Group II and the ICT unit of Deltares. A collaborative mindset is therefore a must have!
Requirements:
Due to the international character of the work, willingness to travel internationally is a must have. You need to provide IT support at international meetings.
About the IPCC Working Group II
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently initiated its Seventh Assessment cycle. Working Group II focuses on the Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability of Climate Change. Its Technical Support Unit (TSU) is co-located at Deltares in the Netherlands and at the Singapore Management University in Singapore. The TSU provides scientific, technical and organisational support of the activities and products of the Working Group.
What we offer
This is a fulltime fixed term contract at Deltares for the duration of at least 3 years. The position is funded by the Dutch government, and employment conditions (e.g., renumeration scales, insurance and other benefits) are through the Deltares. In addition we offer:
Here you can find more information about our attractive terms of employment.
Procedure
Apply with your CV and motivation letter before September 16. Applications without motivation letter will not be reviewed.
Interviews will start during the week of September 30 and selection may include multiple interviews and evaluation of assignments representative for the support work carried out in the TSU.
Starting date: as soon as possible. The position is based in the Netherlands. Working remotely from another country is not possible.
Questions? Please call our recruiter Brian de Bruin (HR Recruitment Officer; +31615267686).
GENEVA, Aug 9 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is calling for nominations of the authors for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers. Scheduled to be considered by the Panel in the second half of 2027, the outline and timeline of the Methodology Report were agreed on by the Panel during its 61st Session held from 27 July to 2 August 2024 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
“This Methodology Report will underpin renewed efforts to better equip all governments in the world to estimate high-quality emission data on short-lived climate forcers not covered in recently published IPCC Guidelines,” said Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Co-Chair Takeshi Enoki.
Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors are responsible for drafting the different chapters of the Methodology Report and revising it based on comments submitted during the review process. Hundreds of experts around the world volunteer their time and expertise to produce the reports of the IPCC. It is important that the author teams aim to reflect a range of scientific, technical and socio-economic views and backgrounds. The IPCC also seeks a balance of men and women, as well as between those experienced with working on IPCC reports and those new to the process, including younger scientists.
“Bringing together diverse voices, expertise, and regional perspectives is crucial to producing a globally relevant and well-informed report,” said Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Co-Chair Mazhar Hayat.
The 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers is being prepared by the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The Task Force Bureau will select Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors from the list of nominations.
Those interested in being nominated as part of the author team should contact their relevant Focal Point. A list of Focal Points for IPCC member governments and observer organizations is available here.
Governments, Observer Organizations, and IPCC Bureau Members have been requested to submit their nominations by 13 September 2024 (midnight CEST).
Nominations are submitted through a dedicated online nomination tool by Focal Points and IPCC Bureau Members only.
More information on the nomination process is here and how the IPCC selects its authors is available here.
For more information, please see the Frequently Asked Questions on nominations or contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Notes for editors
What is 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 measuring emissions and removals.
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.
About the Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage. At the 61st Session, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half of 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provides direct scientific input to the first global stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The Working Group III contribution, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was released on 4 April 2022 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including videos about the IPCC and video recordings from outreach events conducted as webinars or live-streamed events.
Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our YouTube channel.
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