In a time when most scientists concur that the planet is facing an increasing threat of rising temperatures (Science Daily, 2011), there are numerous organizational and country specific initiatives that focus on the issue of climate change, many having been in existence since the 1970s. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) describes in detail on its web site the first world climate conference in 1979 that called for “global cooperation to explore the possible future course of global climate and to take this new understanding into account in planning for the future development of human society” (www/wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/international_background.php). The WMO convened with the United National Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council for Science (hosting a Planet Under Pressure Conference in London in March 2012) the second joint conference in 1985 to examine increasing greenhouse gases, and in 1987, the WMO coordinated with the UNEP to create an ad hoc means to “provide scientific assessments of climate change”. This was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The IPCC is a scientific and intergovernmental body. Scientists worldwide contribute on a volunteer basis to the IPCC to produce assessment reports released at regular intervals. The IPCC rigorously “reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio‐economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change” and its potential environmental and socio‐economic impacts. This process is described under the Organization section of its web site, which includes Structures, Procedures, and a History category. The IPCC describes its work as “policy‐relevant and yet policy‐neutral, never policy‐prescriptive”. There are three Working Groups of the IPCC, also a Task Force and a Task Group, each working with varying aspects of climate analysis and greenhouse gases.
The web site serves primarily as a resource for its members, but its research and publications are available for the public. The access point to information is primarily via the left bar, but the publications of the Working Groups and the results of the Plenary Sessions are on the right, providing direct links to these documents. The Activities section features the Fifth Assessment and related reports, and describes these assessment reports as one of the main activities of the IPCC, to give “the state of scientific, technical and socio‐economic knowledge on climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response strategies”. Information on the other assessment reports and publications is available in the Publications and Data section. Other publications include Special Reports, Methodology Reports, Technical Papers, and Supporting Materials. By clicking on each of these subdivisions under Publications and Data, researchers can access the contents of most materials in PDF or chapter‐by‐chapter. IPCC materials are also published commercially, and can be purchased in paper from the publisher. Some hard copies may also be obtained from the IPCC Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland at no charge. Publications are available in five languages; the pages of the web site can also be translated.
The report featured on the site at the time of this review is the Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, which “assesses existing literature on the future potential of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change”. The Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation is to be released in November 2011. The two most recent Assessment Reports are highlighted below, with the Fifth including an outline of its status. Clicking on the new publications highlighted retrieves the proceedings of recent IPCC workshops, 200+ pages reports, in PDF. Press releases, including Understanding Climate Change, 22 Years of IPCC Assessment (12 pages in length), are also available.
The Supporting Data section points to the Data Distribution Centre, which gives access to data used in Assessment Reports and other data, such as High Resolution Observational Climatologies. Other datasets include the Emission Factor Database, which is a library of sorts, providing data on emission factors. Presentations and speeches given by IPCC officials at key United Nations meetings are available as is information on an annual scholarship programme. Nine individuals from developing countries will be awarded this opportunity in 2011‐12 to contribute to the study of climate change. The Calendar of Meetings and Meeting Documentation are import resources for those internal to the IPCC.
The IPPC site and materials are extensive and well‐organized. As IPCC initiatives have led to a network of other activities, and it would be useful to include references as to these, also to the initiatives of its partner agencies the WMO and UNEP. For example, the IPCC's first Assessment Report in 1990 led to the creation in 1994 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (www.wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/international_background.php http://unfccc.int/essential_background/items/2877.php), an international treaty to work to reduce global warming; the seventeenth convention is to take place in November 2011. The Kyoto Protocol is an extension of this treaty; it “sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions” (http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php). The UNFCC site gives thorough background on the Protocol. The UNEP pages on Climate Change (www.unep.org/climatechange/) give additional information and publications, including the new global initiative PROVIA, Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation – a collaboration between UNEP, WMO and UNESCO. Full‐text access is given to the UNEP Yearbook, and the Climate Change Science Compendium 2009.
The WMO has a great extent of climate related data on its web site in nine sections for continued research (www.wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/index_en.php). Topics include Climate Data and Monitoring, Climate Research, Climate Applications, etc. Using the International Collaborations and Partnerships and the World Climate Programme sections, this web site may be the best starting point to explore the many existing climate initiatives which are mostly interconnected. The World Climate Programme for example, leads to yet additional international collaborations on climate change. And then there are country specific initiatives, for example the United States Global Change Research Program in the US (www.globalchange.gov/) and the China Climate Change Info‐Net in China (www.ccchina.gov.cn/en/).
The IPCC produces key materials for global climate research, but the other hierarchies of the WMO and United Nations describing climate change actions must be explored in order to gather a rounded sense of all of the organizations involved and research/conferences taking place. One hopes that the many outcomes can be funnelled to produce effective action and results in the short term.
