IPCC to release major report on the science of climate change

Geneva, 22 January 2007 " The Summary for Policymakers of the first volume of “Climate Change 2007”, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) new assessment report, will be released on 2 February in Paris.

The, Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will be finalised at the 10th Session of WGI which will take place in Paris from 29 January - 1 February. Government delegates at this Session will approve the Summary for Policymakers of the report line by line, and then accept the underlying report.

The WGI report, “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis”, assesses the current scientific knowledge of the natural and human drivers of climate change, observed changes in climate, the ability of science to attribute changes to different causes, and projections for future climate change.

The Report includes significantly advanced observations of the climate system, presents new projections of future global climate change using results from 19 climate models, all with improved representations of physics, chemistry, and spatial resolution. The report also covers the range of anthropogenic greenhouse gases and other factors that drive climate change. There will also be a Chapter assessing the paleoclimatic perspective.

The WGI report does not cover the impacts of climate change or options for the mitigation of climate change. These aspects will be covered in subsequent reports by Working Group II (impacts, adaptation and vulnerability), and Working Group III (mitigation options) to be finalised respectively in early April and early May this year In addition a Synthesis Report covering key findings of all three Working Groups will be released in late 2007.

The opening ceremony of the 10th WGI Session is open to the press and will take place at 10.00 am on 29 January 2007 in Salle II of the UNESCO Building in Paris. The ceremony will be chaired by Mr Qin Dahe, IPCC WGI Co-Chair, in the presence of the French Government represented by Mrs Nelly Olin, Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development, and others. Speakers will include Mr Rajendra Pachauri, IPCC Chairman; Mrs Susan Solomon, IPCC WGI Co-Chair, as well as other senior officials of IPCC parent organisations WMO and UNEP, and of UNESCO.

The approved text of the Summary for Policymakers of the Report will be presented at a press conference that will take place at 9.30 AM Central European Time on Friday, 2 February 2007 at:

Salle IV (Mezzanine Floor)
UNESCO Conference Centre
125, av de Suffren, 75007 Paris


Opening remarks will be made by Mrs. Susan Solomon, IPCC WGI Co-chair. On the podium will also be Mr. Rajendra Pachauri, IPCC Chair; Mr. Qin Dahe, IPCC WGI Co-Chair, as well as WMO Secretary General, Mr. Michel Jarraud and UNEP Executive Director, Mr. Achim Steiner. Other authors who have contributed to the report will be present at the press conference.

The press conference will be webcast live and access details will be made available from web sites: http://www.ipcc.ch and http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu beforehand. The Summary for Policymakers will also be made available in English from these web sites on 2 February.

The full WGI Report, including 11 chapters and a Technical Summary, will be published by Cambridge University Press and should be available by mid-2007 in book form and online from IPCC web sites.

Media participation at the opening ceremony and the press conference is subject to accreditation by the IPCC. For information concerning accreditation and interview requests please contact:

Ӣ Carola Traverso Saibante, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 730 8066; +41-79- 666-7134 (portable)
E-mail: CSaibante@wmo.int

Ӣ Kristen Averyt, IPCC Working Group I Technical Support Unit, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Phone: +1-303-497-4885;
Email: ipcc-wg1@al.noaa.gov

Ӣ Michael Williams, United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva, Switzerland.
Phone: + 41-22-9178-242/244/196, +41-79-409-1528 (portable);
Email: michael.williams@unep.ch

Ӣ Carine Richard-Van Maele, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 730 8315
Email: Email: cpa@wmo.int