1fs. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeYou have probably
heard about the current debates around climate change and global
warming. You may think of climate change as a problem in remote polar
regions and mountain ranges, where ice sheets and glaciers are melting,
and wonder if it’s true that climate change is already affecting the
regions where most people live. The fact is that it has indeed
occurredand will continue to do so. And these changes are not restricted
to increases in temperature and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers;
very strong evidence leads us to the conclusion that there have been
and will continue to be changes in the occurrence of extremely heavy
precipitation events, the frequency and intensity of droughts, and the
concomitant changes in the cost of food and energy. These climate
changes are discussed later in the chapter. The best single source for
documenting these changes is the current report from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).The IPCC was
established in 1988 under the auspices of the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Its mandates included the assessment of the current knowledge about
climate changes (including an analysis of what is not known), discussion
of how these changes impact the global, environment and socioeconomic
activity, and the development of policy recommendations.The panel is
composed of three working groups: Working Group t (WGI) analyzes the
state of scientific knowledge of climate change, Working Group II (WGII)
reports on its human and environmental impacts, and Working Group III
(WGIII) offers mitigation strategies. None of the working groups is
charged with undertaking new research; their responsibility is to
present an overview of the state of knowledge in each of their
respective areas. This is particularly significant because the IPCC
reports do not reflect the views of just a select group of people, but
rather a consensus of the scientific community at large about what it
knows and does not know about climate change.The assessment report
released in 2013 was the fifth since the inception of the panel. Like
the earlier reports, it incorporated the most recent findings into its
analysis and made use of improvements in computer modeling, enhanced
satellite data acquisition, and further observational evidence The
report was a massive collective effort; it was authored by more than 150
expert climate scientists from 30 countries and was subject to review
by another 600 experts. Extensive opportunity was provided for comment
by governments, organizations, and individuals. Indeed, more than 30,000
written comments were submitted, and editors were required to ensure an
adequate response to all substantive submissions. Draft documents were
given two rounds of review. Each assessment report also described the
level of uncertainty in its analyses, with explicit definitions for
qualitative characterizations. (The “extremely likely” role of humans in
the observed warming mentioned previously is one such example.)In
summary, the IPCC reportsarenot position papers prepared by a group of
scientists intent on espousing a particular viewpoint. Rather, they are
the scientific community’s response to a request for informed analysis
of the current state of the physical science surrounding climate change.
The IPCC reports represent the most comprehensive and authoritative
summary available on a topic of intense interest and great importance
for both humans and the naturalrealm. In 2007 the group was collectively
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with former United States Vice
President Al Gore, who has campaigned to spread information on the
seriousness of global warmingSummarize the purpose and makeup of the
IPCC. Get solution
2fs. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeYou have probably heard about the current debates around climate change and global warming. You may think of climate change as a problem in remote polar regions and mountain ranges, where ice sheets and glaciers are melting, and wonder if it’s true that climate change is already affecting the regions where most people live. The fact is that it has indeed occurredand will continue to do so. And these changes are not restricted to increases in temperature and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers; very strong evidence leads us to the conclusion that there have been and will continue to be changes in the occurrence of extremely heavy precipitation events, the frequency and intensity of droughts, and the concomitant changes in the cost of food and energy. These climate changes are discussed later in the chapter. The best single source for documenting these changes is the current report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).The IPCC was established in 1988 under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its mandates included the assessment of the current knowledge about climate changes (including an analysis of what is not known), discussion of how these changes impact the global, environment and socioeconomic activity, and the development of policy recommendations.The panel is composed of three working groups: Working Group t (WGI) analyzes the state of scientific knowledge of climate change, Working Group II (WGII) reports on its human and environmental impacts, and Working Group III (WGIII) offers mitigation strategies. None of the working groups is charged with undertaking new research; their responsibility is to present an overview of the state of knowledge in each of their respective areas. This is particularly significant because the IPCC reports do not reflect the views of just a select group of people, but rather a consensus of the scientific community at large about what it knows and does not know about climate change.The assessment report released in 2013 was the fifth since the inception of the panel. Like the earlier reports, it incorporated the most recent findings into its analysis and made use of improvements in computer modeling, enhanced satellite data acquisition, and further observational evidence The report was a massive collective effort; it was authored by more than 150 expert climate scientists from 30 countries and was subject to review by another 600 experts. Extensive opportunity was provided for comment by governments, organizations, and individuals. Indeed, more than 30,000 written comments were submitted, and editors were required to ensure an adequate response to all substantive submissions. Draft documents were given two rounds of review. Each assessment report also described the level of uncertainty in its analyses, with explicit definitions for qualitative characterizations. (The “extremely likely” role of humans in the observed warming mentioned previously is one such example.)In summary, the IPCC reportsarenot position papers prepared by a group of scientists intent on espousing a particular viewpoint. Rather, they are the scientific community’s response to a request for informed analysis of the current state of the physical science surrounding climate change. The IPCC reports represent the most comprehensive and authoritative summary available on a topic of intense interest and great importance for both humans and the naturalrealm. In 2007 the group was collectively awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with former United States Vice President Al Gore, who has campaigned to spread information on the seriousness of global warmingDescribe the process used to assemble the 2013 IPCC report. What aspects of the process were designed to ensure its objectivity and accuracy? Get solution
2fs. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeYou have probably heard about the current debates around climate change and global warming. You may think of climate change as a problem in remote polar regions and mountain ranges, where ice sheets and glaciers are melting, and wonder if it’s true that climate change is already affecting the regions where most people live. The fact is that it has indeed occurredand will continue to do so. And these changes are not restricted to increases in temperature and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers; very strong evidence leads us to the conclusion that there have been and will continue to be changes in the occurrence of extremely heavy precipitation events, the frequency and intensity of droughts, and the concomitant changes in the cost of food and energy. These climate changes are discussed later in the chapter. The best single source for documenting these changes is the current report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).The IPCC was established in 1988 under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its mandates included the assessment of the current knowledge about climate changes (including an analysis of what is not known), discussion of how these changes impact the global, environment and socioeconomic activity, and the development of policy recommendations.The panel is composed of three working groups: Working Group t (WGI) analyzes the state of scientific knowledge of climate change, Working Group II (WGII) reports on its human and environmental impacts, and Working Group III (WGIII) offers mitigation strategies. None of the working groups is charged with undertaking new research; their responsibility is to present an overview of the state of knowledge in each of their respective areas. This is particularly significant because the IPCC reports do not reflect the views of just a select group of people, but rather a consensus of the scientific community at large about what it knows and does not know about climate change.The assessment report released in 2013 was the fifth since the inception of the panel. Like the earlier reports, it incorporated the most recent findings into its analysis and made use of improvements in computer modeling, enhanced satellite data acquisition, and further observational evidence The report was a massive collective effort; it was authored by more than 150 expert climate scientists from 30 countries and was subject to review by another 600 experts. Extensive opportunity was provided for comment by governments, organizations, and individuals. Indeed, more than 30,000 written comments were submitted, and editors were required to ensure an adequate response to all substantive submissions. Draft documents were given two rounds of review. Each assessment report also described the level of uncertainty in its analyses, with explicit definitions for qualitative characterizations. (The “extremely likely” role of humans in the observed warming mentioned previously is one such example.)In summary, the IPCC reportsarenot position papers prepared by a group of scientists intent on espousing a particular viewpoint. Rather, they are the scientific community’s response to a request for informed analysis of the current state of the physical science surrounding climate change. The IPCC reports represent the most comprehensive and authoritative summary available on a topic of intense interest and great importance for both humans and the naturalrealm. In 2007 the group was collectively awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with former United States Vice President Al Gore, who has campaigned to spread information on the seriousness of global warmingDescribe the process used to assemble the 2013 IPCC report. What aspects of the process were designed to ensure its objectivity and accuracy? Get solution
