Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established to assess the
evidence of human-induced
climate change, as well as to assess its impact and our vulnerability
and to make scientific judgements on mitigation and adaptation. As a scientific
body within the UN system, it has sought to ensure the credibility of its scientific assessments
as well as ensuring meaningful state participation. As the reports of the IPCC have
become established as a fundamental feature of the international political and scientific
debate on climate change, increasingly attention has been paid to its institutional set-up,
internal processes and ways of working. Despite high-profile
controversies, the IPCC
continues to have a pivotal role in the international architecture on climate change, and
is the principal actor in making scientific judgements on the issue.