Different 
regional classiﬁcation schemes61 are used for physical, social and 
economic aspects, reﬂecting the underlying literature.
After this introduction, Section 2, ‘Current Status and Trends’, opens 
with the assessment of observational evidence for our changing 
climate, historical and current drivers of human-induced climate 
change, and its impacts. It assesses the current implementation of 
adaptation and mitigation response options. Section 3, ‘Long-Term 
Climate and Development Futures’, provides a long-term assessment of 
climate change to 2100 and beyond in a broad range of socio-economic 
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The three Working Group contributions to AR6 are: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis; Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability; and Climate 
Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, respectively. Their assessments cover scientiﬁc literature accepted for publication respectively by 31 January 2021, 1 September 
2021 and 11 October 2021.
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The three Special Reports are : Global Warming of 1.5°C (2018): an IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C 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 (SR1.5); Climate Change and Land (2019): an IPCC Special Report on climate change, desertiﬁcation, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and 
greenhouse gas ﬂuxes in terrestrial ecosystems (SRCCL); and The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (2019) (SROCC). The Special Reports cover scientiﬁc literature 
accepted for publication respectively by 15 May 2018, 7 April 2019 and 15 May 2019.
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The Glossary (Annex I) includes deﬁnitions of these, and other terms and concepts used in this report drawn from the AR6 joint Working Group Glossary.