RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept 19 - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for
assessing the science related to climate change, is presenting its findings with a focus on Saudi Arabia
and the Gulf region at a regional outreach event in Riyadh on 19-20 September 2017.
It is also presenting its work programme for the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) cycle at the event hosted
by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The event will be opened by Prince Turki bin
Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, KACST President and Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. Press conference will take
place at 11.30 am on 19 September at KACST.
IPCC Bureau members and authors are participating in workshops as part of the two-day outreach event,
attended by policymakers, practitioners, scientists, civil society, business and media representatives
from Saudi Arabia and the region.
The event will raise awareness about the latest IPCC report, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5),
completed in 2014, which was a crucial input to the Paris Agreement on climate change reached in
December 2015.
"The region is vulnerable to climate change but various adaptation and mitigation options exist to
make society more resilient and create opportunities for a sustainable future," said Hans-Otto Pörtner,
Co-Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC. "This timely conference will provide valuable guidance to
policymakers and practitioners on addressing the challenges of climate change."
Scientists are also presenting the outlines for the next comprehensive scientific assessment of climate
change, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which were approved by the IPCC’s 195 member governments
at the latest session of the Panel that took place in Montreal, Canada, on 6-10 September.
"Climate change is a highly important issue for Saudi Arabia. KACST currently coordinates research efforts
to address climate change challenges, such as greenhouse gases emission including carbon dioxide capture and
utilization, energy efficiency and renewable energy," said Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud,
the President of KACST. "This event will be an opportunity for researchers to engage with the
international community and enhance the dialogue on future efforts to combat climate change."
IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee said that policymakers in the region could draw on IPCC assessments to
achieve sustainable development pathways.
"We would like to see the research community in Saudi Arabia and other developing countries tackle
various issues identified by the outlines of the AR6 and provide us with scientific literature that
can feed into the new and future assessments," Lee added.
For more information, contact:
Webpages of the event:
http://bit.ly/2h90678 and
http://bit.ly/2wiYTob
IPCC Press Office, Email:
ipcc-media@wmo.int
Nina Peeva, +41 22 730 8142
Follow IPCC on
Facebook,
Twitter @ipcc_ch,
LinkedIn
and
Instagram.
Notes for editors
What is the IPCC?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the world body for assessing the science
related to climate change. It was set up by the World Meteorological Organization and United
Nations Environment Programme in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the
scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
IPCC assessments provide governments at all levels with scientific information they can use to
develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to
tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages to guarantee
objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to tell policymakers what
we know and don't know about the risks related to climate change. The IPCC identifies where
there is agreement in the scientific community, where there are differences of opinion, and
where further research is needed. It does not conduct its own research.
To produce its reports, the IPCC mobilizes hundreds of scientists. These scientists and officials are
drawn from diverse backgrounds. Only a dozen permanent staff work in the IPCC's Secretariat.
The members of the Panel are its 195 member governments. They work by consensus to endorse the
reports of the IPCC and set its procedures and budget in plenary meetings of the Panel.
The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of
climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working
Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.
IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from each of the three working groups and a
Synthesis Report. Special Reports undertake an assessment of cross-disciplinary issues that span
more than one working group and are shorter and more focused than the main assessments.
Sixth Assessment Cycle
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth
Assessment Report (AR6). At its 43rd Session in April 2016, it decided to produce three Special
Reports, a Methodology Report to update guidelines on national greenhouse gas inventories, and AR6.
The first of these special reports, to be finalized in October 2018, is Global Warming of 1.5ºC,
an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels and
related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response
to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.
The Methodology Report, entitled 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse
Gas Inventories, will be delivered in May 2019.
In September 2019 the IPCC will also finalize two Special Reports: the Special Report on the Ocean
and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, and Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on
climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and
greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.
The three working group contributions to AR6 will be released in 2021, and the Synthesis Report
in April 2022.
