The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body and institution of the United Nations (UN) that provides governments with scientific information to develop climate policies. It was jointly established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to address the growing complexity of climate science and its implications for policy. The IPCC's core function is to assess the scientific, technical, and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
The IPCC does not conduct its own original research but synthesizes existing peer-reviewed literature into comprehensive Assessment Reports (produced approximately every six to seven years) and Special Reports. Its work is structured around three Working Groups: Working Group I (The Physical Science Basis), Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability), and Working Group III (Mitigation of Climate Change), along with a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The reports are approved by consensus among its 195 member governments, ensuring political legitimacy alongside scientific rigor.
The IPCC's findings are a key scientific input for international climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For instance, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) was a major influence on the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), finalized between 2021 and 2023, informed the 2023 Global Stocktake process. The current Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) cycle began in July 2023 and will maintain the traditional three Working Group reports and a Synthesis Report, with a new Special Report on Climate Change and Cities planned.