The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process and its contribution to the development of sustainable and climate-friendly adaptation measures on a global scale
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a United Nations body created in 1988 to provide decision makers with regular, neutral, policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. It is divided into three Working Groups (WG). The WGII contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (WGII AR6), which is currently being developed, is focused on the impacts of climate change on natural and human systems and their vulnerabilities, as well as capacities and limits of these systems to adapt to climate change and thereby reduce climate-associated risks. The WGII AR6 chapter teams consist of 263 experts, including scientists, practitioners, as well as and indigenous researchers, who bring a diverse range of scientific expertise in regional, cultural and social perspectives. AR6 will assess risks, adaptations and sustainability for various systems (e.g., land and freshwater ecosystems, ocean and coastal ecosystems, water, food, fibre and other ecosystem products, cities and key infrastructure, health, and livelihoods) and regions (Africa, Asia, etc., including Small Islands) impacted by climate change, as well as frame options for sustainable development pathways integrating adaptation and mitigation measures. The development of WGII AR6 started in January 2019 and will be finalized in October 2021, in time for the Global Stocktake foreseen under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).