Introduction

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988, to provide an authoritative, international consensus of scientific opinion on climate change. Through 3 working groups, hundreds of international experts present their latest findings in this Fourth Assessment Report 2007.

The IPCC consolidates information from a huge range of literature and data in an attempt to answer critical questions as:

• Has the Earth’s climate changed as a result of human activities?
• In what ways is climate projected to change in the future?
• How vulnerable are agriculture, water supply, ecosystems, coastal infrastructure, and human health to different levels of change in climate and sea levels?
• What is the technical, economic, and market potential of options to adapt to climate change or reduce emissions of the gases that influence climate?

The new Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) is composed of three elements that cover the complete range of scientific, technical, economic, and social issues associated with the climate system and climate change deemed important by the expert and policymaking communities.

The Books arising from the Fourth Assessment Report

• Working Group I Contribution: The Physical Science Basis
• Working Group II Contribution: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
• Working Group III Contribution: Mitigation of Climate Change

For more information about the work of the IPCC, please visit their website at http://www.ipcc.ch/.