An Overview of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Its
Process of Science Assessment
SIR JOHN HOUGHTON
1 Background
It has been known for about 175 years that the presence in the atmosphere of
‘greenhouse gases’ such as carbon dioxide that absorb in the infrared part of the
spectrum leads to a warming of the Earth’s surface through the ‘greenhouse’
effect. The first quantitative calculation of the effect on the atmosphere of
increased carbon dioxide concentrations was made by the Swedish scientist
Svante Arrhenius in 1896. In the 1960s, Charles Keeling and his colleagues began
a regular series of accurate observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. These showed
increasing values as a result of human activities, mainly the burning of fossil fuels.
By the 1980s, as the rate of increase of carbon dioxide concentration became
larger, the possible impact on the global climate became a matter of concern to
politicians as well as scientists. The report of a scientific meeting held at Villach,
Austria in 1985 (SCOPE 29, 1986) under the auspices of the Scientific Committee
on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of
Scientific Unions (ICSU) began to alert governments and the public at large to
the potential seriousness of the issue. Estimates were made that the carbon
dioxide concentration could double before the end of the 21st century. In 1986,
three international bodies, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International
Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), who had co-sponsored the Villach
conference, formed the Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases (AGGG), a small
international committee with responsibility for assessing the available scientific
information about the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the
likely impact.
A comprehensive account of Global Warming and Climate Change can be found in J. Houghton,
Global Warming: the Complete Briefing, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Issues in Environmental Science and Technology, No. 17
Global Environmental Change
© The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002
1
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Its
Process of Science Assessment
SIR JOHN HOUGHTON
1 Background
It has been known for about 175 years that the presence in the atmosphere of
‘greenhouse gases’ such as carbon dioxide that absorb in the infrared part of the
spectrum leads to a warming of the Earth’s surface through the ‘greenhouse’
effect. The first quantitative calculation of the effect on the atmosphere of
increased carbon dioxide concentrations was made by the Swedish scientist
Svante Arrhenius in 1896. In the 1960s, Charles Keeling and his colleagues began
a regular series of accurate observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. These showed
increasing values as a result of human activities, mainly the burning of fossil fuels.
By the 1980s, as the rate of increase of carbon dioxide concentration became
larger, the possible impact on the global climate became a matter of concern to
politicians as well as scientists. The report of a scientific meeting held at Villach,
Austria in 1985 (SCOPE 29, 1986) under the auspices of the Scientific Committee
on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of
Scientific Unions (ICSU) began to alert governments and the public at large to
the potential seriousness of the issue. Estimates were made that the carbon
dioxide concentration could double before the end of the 21st century. In 1986,
three international bodies, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International
Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), who had co-sponsored the Villach
conference, formed the Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases (AGGG), a small
international committee with responsibility for assessing the available scientific
information about the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the
likely impact.
A comprehensive account of Global Warming and Climate Change can be found in J. Houghton,
Global Warming: the Complete Briefing, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Issues in Environmental Science and Technology, No. 17
Global Environmental Change
© The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002
1