GENEVA, July 8 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II, which deals with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change, will meet in Kathmandu, Nepal, next week to advance their contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
The Second Lead Author Meeting on 15 to 19 July 2019 will bring together more than 260 authors and IPCC Bureau members from more than 60 countries. It is hosted by the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Government of Nepal, in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
“Meeting here in Kathmandu reminds us in a very direct way of the strong interdependence of human and natural systems, and how both are threatened by climate change,” said Working Group II Co-Chair Debra Roberts. “The purpose of our report is to provide options for adaptation action that will enable cities like Kathmandu and ecosystems such as the high mountains to thrive and contribute towards improved well-being and sustainable development. Key aspects of our report and reasons to act on climate change are very evident here.”
The Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report provides governments with an assessment of the latest scientific knowledge about the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and human systems and their vulnerabilities. It also analyses the capacities and limits of these systems to adapt to climate change and options to reduce climate-associated risks and to create a sustainable future.
In advance of the Second Lead Author Meeting, the initial draft of the report underwent an informal review. Comments from experts in various disciplines will be addressed when authors prepare the First Order Draft of the report.
“The internal draft and its careful review by experts have helped us to set the course for our assessment,” said Working-Group II Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner. “Based on this, we will be able to provide governments with in-depth information for their efforts to reduce risks from climate change for ecosystems and human society, protect biodiversity, eradicate poverty and enhance sustainable development.”
The First Order Draft will be available for Expert Review from 18 October to 13 December 2019. The Second Order Draft will be open for Government and Expert Review from 7 August to 2 October 2020, along with the first draft of the Summary for Policymakers. The IPCC Panel is due to consider the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report at a plenary session on 4 to 8 October 2021.
In 2022, a Synthesis Report integrating the three Working Group contributions and Special Reports will complete the sixth assessment cycle. It will be released in time to inform the 2023 global stocktake by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) when countries will review progress towards the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to well below 2°C while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
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About the IPCC
The IPCC provides regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC reports are also a key input into international climate change negotiations.
The IPCC is an organization of governments that are members of the United Nations or WMO. The IPCC currently has 195 members. 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.
An open and transparent review by experts and governments around the world is an essential part of the IPCC process, to ensure an objective and complete assessment and to reflect a diverse range of views and expertise. Through its assessments, the IPCC identifies the strength of scientific agreement in different areas and indicates where further research is needed. The IPCC does not conduct its own research.
The IPCC is divided into three Working Groups and a Task Force. Working Group I deals with The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change, Working Group II with Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and Working Group III with Mitigation of Climate Change. The main objective of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is to develop and refine a methodology for the calculation and reporting of national greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
Alongside the Working Groups and the Task Force, other Task Groups may be established by the Panel for a set time period to consider a specific topic or question. One example is the decision at the 47th Session of the IPCC in Paris in March 2018 to establish a Task Group to improve gender balance and address gender-related issues within the IPCC.
Sixth Assessment Cycle
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 first of these Special Reports, Global Warming of 1.5ºC was released in October 2018.
The Methodology Report, entitled 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, was delivered in May 2019. The Special Report Climate Change and Land will be delivered in August 2019 and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate in September 2019.