A Critical Assessment Of The Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has become a hugely influential institution. It is the authoritative voice on the science on climate change, and an exemplar of an intergovernmental science-policy interface. This book introduces the IPCC as an institution, covering its origins, history, processes, participants, products, and influence. Discussing its internal workings and operating principles, it shows how IPCC assessments are produced and how consensus is reached between scientific and policy experts from different institutions, countries, and social groups. A variety of practices and discourses - epistemic, diplomatic, procedural, communicative - that make the institution function are critically assessed, allowing the reader to learn from its successes and failures. This volume is the go-to reference for researchers studying or active within the IPCC, as well as invaluable for students concerned with global environmental problems and climate governance. This title is also available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Environmental Policy, grade: 1, Egerton University (Public Health), course: Climate Change, language: English, abstract: Climate change seems to be a unique phenomenon owing to the numerous controversies surrounding it. This is why there exists a great divide between environmentalists and their challengers over the issue of climate change. To the present, the debate on climate change has taken diverse perspectives in which the critical issue is whether climate change is a factual or false phenomenon. In order to enhance understanding over the issue of climate change, a number of international agencies have been formed. One of the most proactive agencies that have immense contribution to the issue is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This scientific intergovernmental body was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Following its endorsement by the UN General Assembly the same year, IPCC became one of the organizations under the auspices of the UN. Its core responsibility is to review and assess scientific, socio-economic and technical information related to climate change and prepare assessment reports for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its reports focus on the risks of human-induced climate change, as well as, its potential socio-economic and environmental impacts. As such, IPCC reports propose the most appropriate mitigation approaches to climate change. Since its inception, IPCC has contributed immensely to the assessment of climate change. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive discussion on IPCC’s contribution to the climate change debate. It will also present a critical assessment of the linkage between the agency’s values and interests, its advocacy positions and its use of science.

Climate change poses many challenges that affect society and the natural world. With these challenges, however, come opportunities to respond. By taking steps to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the risks to society and the impacts of continued climate change can be lessened. The National Climate Assessment, coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is a mandated report intended to inform response decisions. Required to be developed every four years, these reports provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of climate change impacts available for the United States, making them a unique and important climate change document. The draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report reviewed here addresses a wide range of topics of high importance to the United States and society more broadly, extending from human health and community well-being, to the built environment, to businesses and economies, to ecosystems and natural resources. This report evaluates the draft NCA4 to determine if it meets the requirements of the federal mandate, whether it provides accurate information grounded in the scientific literature, and whether it effectively communicates climate science, impacts, and responses for general audiences including the public, decision makers, and other stakeholders.

Canada’s Top Climate Change Risks identifies the top risk areas based on the extent and likelihood of the potential damage, and rates the risk areas according to society’s ability to adapt and reduce negative outcomes. These 12 major areas of risk are: agriculture and food, coastal communities, ecosystems, fisheries, forestry, geopolitical dynamics, governance and capacity, human health and wellness, Indigenous ways of life, northern communities, physical infrastructure, and water. The report describes an approach to inform federal risk prioritization and adaptation responses. The Panel outlines a multi-layered method of prioritizing adaptation measures based on an understanding of the risk, adaptation potential, and federal roles and responsibilities.

IPCC Report on sources, capture, transport, and storage of CO2, for researchers, policy-makers and engineers.

This Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report provides a comprehensive and transparent assessment of the literature on climate change mitigation. The report assesses progress in climate change mitigation options for reducing emissions and enhancing sinks. With greenhouse gas emissions at the highest levels in human history, this report provides options to achieve net zero, as pledged by many countries. The report highlights for the first time the social and demand-side aspects of climate mitigation, and assesses the literature on human behaviour, lifestyle, and culture, and its implications for mitigation action. It brings a wide range of disciplines, notably from the social sciences, within the scope of the assessment. IPCC reports are a trusted source for decision makers, policymakers, and stakeholders at all levels (international, regional, national, local) and in all branches (government, businesses, NGOs). Available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.