MAJOR FINDINGS FROM THE IPCC FOURTH ASSESSMENT REPORT “CLIMATE CHANGE 2007”
Abstract
Climate change is a very complex issue: policymakers need an objective source of information about the causes of climate change, its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences and the adaptation and mitigation options to respond to it. This is why WMO and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. The IPCC is a scientific body: the information it provides through its reports is based on scientific evidence and reflects existing viewpoints within the scientific community. Because of its intergovernmental nature, the IPCC is able to provide scientific, technical and socio-economic information in a policy-relevant but policy neutral way to decision-makers. The IPCC provides its reports at regular intervals. The Fourth Assessment Report “Climate Change 2007” was finalized in 2007. Some of the major findings from this report are presented in this article. It is shown that climate change, if unmitigated, can have serious implications for the economic well-being of human society and also that global efforts to address the problem remain weak and inadequate, even as changes in climate become more serious.
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