UN climate experts stress solidity of new report (Update)
From left, Lena Ek, Ministry of the Environment of Sweden, Prof. Thomas Stocker, IPCC working group and Prof. Dahe Qin, IPCC Working group during the IPCC meeting in Stockholm Monday Sept. 23, 2013. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting in Stockholm until 27 September to prepare and present new conclusions on climate change and its scientific basis. (AP photo / Scanpix Sweden / Bertil Enevåg Ericson)
Seeking to dispel any doubts over the credibility of their work, U.N. climate experts called their latest report an unbiased and reliable assessment of global warming as they presented it Monday to officials from 110 governments for a final review.
The landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is expected to state with more confidence than its previous four assessments that global warming is mostly man-made.
It's also going to provide updated observations and projections of the changes happening in the climate system, from the melting of Arctic sea ice to the warming and acidification of oceans.
Thomas Stocker, co-chair of the working group that wrote the report, said it has undergone multiple stages of review, with more than 50,000 comments considered by the authors. The final version is scheduled to be adopted at the end of an IPCC conference this week in Stockholm.
"I know of no other document that has undergone this scrutiny," Stocker said as the meeting opened. "It stands out as a reliable and indispensable source of knowledge about climate change."
He said millions of measurements on land, at sea, in the air and from space underpinned what he called an "unprecedented and unbiased view of the state of the climate system."
The IPCC's work to improve the world's understanding of climate change won it the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 together with climate campaigner Al Gore. But a series of errors embarrassed the authors of its previous climate assessment, which was completed that same year.
Among the most prominent was an incorrect statement that the glaciers in the Himalayas were melting faster than others and that they would disappear by 2035—hundreds of years earlier than other information suggests.
An independent review of the U.N. climate panel in 2010 found that overall it has done a good job but needs more openness and regular changes in leadership. It also called for stronger enforcement of its reviews of research and adoption of a conflict of interest policy.
IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri told The Associated Press on Monday that he hopes the review has helped enhance the panel's credibility.
"Our processes were found to be very strong. Very good. Very effective," he said. "But you know we have been in existence for 20-odd years and therefore it was time for us to get a second opinion on how we could improve ourselves. And I'm sure we've done very well in implementing the recommendations."
The report being completed in Stockholm deals with the physical science aspects of the climate system and is the first of a four-part assessment that covers several aspects of global warming.
Earlier Monday, Pachauri told delegates in Stockholm that the latest report marks "a new milestone in the understanding of climate change."
He said the fact that 60 percent of the authors were new to the IPCC process "show the inclusivity and openness" of the U.N.-sponsored panel "and the emphasis we place on new knowledge and expertise and fresh perspectives and approaches."
Explore further:Human activity is 'almost certainly' driving climate change, IPCC leaked report says
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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User comments : 2
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Display comments: newest first
VendicarE5 / 5 (1)52 minutes ago
Where are the paid industry shills?Shouldn't they be here by now to try and counter the rock solid science through lies, distortions and fear?
I guess they haven't arrived at their Libertarian Stink Tank offices yet.
Sinister1811not rated yet39 minutes ago
Where are the paid industry shills?
Shouldn't they be here by now to try and counter the rock solid science through lies, distortions and fear?
I guess they haven't arrived at their Libertarian Stink Tank offices yet.
My guess is that they're looking for the nearest sandpit. lol
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© Phys.org™ 2003-2013
From left, Lena Ek, Ministry of the Environment of Sweden, Prof. Thomas Stocker, IPCC working group and Prof. Dahe Qin, IPCC Working group during the IPCC meeting in Stockholm Monday Sept. 23, 2013. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting in Stockholm until 27 September to prepare and present new conclusions on climate change and its scientific basis. (AP photo / Scanpix Sweden / Bertil Enevåg Ericson)
Seeking to dispel any doubts over the credibility of their work, U.N. climate experts called their latest report an unbiased and reliable assessment of global warming as they presented it Monday to officials from 110 governments for a final review.
The landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is expected to state with more confidence than its previous four assessments that global warming is mostly man-made.
It's also going to provide updated observations and projections of the changes happening in the climate system, from the melting of Arctic sea ice to the warming and acidification of oceans.
Thomas Stocker, co-chair of the working group that wrote the report, said it has undergone multiple stages of review, with more than 50,000 comments considered by the authors. The final version is scheduled to be adopted at the end of an IPCC conference this week in Stockholm.
"I know of no other document that has undergone this scrutiny," Stocker said as the meeting opened. "It stands out as a reliable and indispensable source of knowledge about climate change."
He said millions of measurements on land, at sea, in the air and from space underpinned what he called an "unprecedented and unbiased view of the state of the climate system."
The IPCC's work to improve the world's understanding of climate change won it the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 together with climate campaigner Al Gore. But a series of errors embarrassed the authors of its previous climate assessment, which was completed that same year.
Among the most prominent was an incorrect statement that the glaciers in the Himalayas were melting faster than others and that they would disappear by 2035—hundreds of years earlier than other information suggests.
An independent review of the U.N. climate panel in 2010 found that overall it has done a good job but needs more openness and regular changes in leadership. It also called for stronger enforcement of its reviews of research and adoption of a conflict of interest policy.
IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri told The Associated Press on Monday that he hopes the review has helped enhance the panel's credibility.
"Our processes were found to be very strong. Very good. Very effective," he said. "But you know we have been in existence for 20-odd years and therefore it was time for us to get a second opinion on how we could improve ourselves. And I'm sure we've done very well in implementing the recommendations."
The report being completed in Stockholm deals with the physical science aspects of the climate system and is the first of a four-part assessment that covers several aspects of global warming.
Earlier Monday, Pachauri told delegates in Stockholm that the latest report marks "a new milestone in the understanding of climate change."
He said the fact that 60 percent of the authors were new to the IPCC process "show the inclusivity and openness" of the U.N.-sponsored panel "and the emphasis we place on new knowledge and expertise and fresh perspectives and approaches."
Explore further:Human activity is 'almost certainly' driving climate change, IPCC leaked report says
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
More from Physics Forums - Earth
Related Stories
Human activity is 'almost certainly' driving climate change, IPCC leaked report says
Aug 21, 2013
Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ...
Australia heatwave part of global trend: IPCC chief
Jan 15, 2013
Australia's extreme summer heatwave, which caused devastating bushfires and saw temperature forecasts go off the scale, is part of a global warming trend, the UN's climate panel chief said Tuesday.
UN climate panel denounces fresh data leaks (Update)
Jan 09, 2013
The UN's climate science panel bemoaned Wednesday a fresh leak of data from a landmark report on global warming that it will start releasing this year.
Climate at five minutes to midnight: IPCC head
Sep 02, 2013
Humanity has pushed the world's climate system to the brink, leaving itself only scant time to act, the head of the UN's group of climate scientists said on Monday.
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Dec 14, 2012
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User comments : 2
Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
Display comments: newest first
VendicarE5 / 5 (1)52 minutes ago
Where are the paid industry shills?
Shouldn't they be here by now to try and counter the rock solid science through lies, distortions and fear?
I guess they haven't arrived at their Libertarian Stink Tank offices yet.
Sinister1811not rated yet39 minutes ago
Where are the paid industry shills?
Shouldn't they be here by now to try and counter the rock solid science through lies, distortions and fear?
I guess they haven't arrived at their Libertarian Stink Tank offices yet.
My guess is that they're looking for the nearest sandpit. lol
More news stories
Health check for Perth waterways
A new report has found that the health of Perth's iconic Swan-Canning Estuary has improved in recent years.
Los Alamos National Laboratory describes storm damage to environmental monitoring stations, canyons
Hours after a disaster declaration by Los Alamos County, Los Alamos National Laboratory officials on Friday described "millions" of dollars in damage to environmental monitoring stations, monitoring wells, ...
New US climate map shows temperature changes in HD
If you're interested to see how warm your neighborhood will look like at 2090, here's a chance. There's new data available that has monthly climate projections for the continental United States at the size ...
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(Phys.org) —A dormant volcano—a supermassive black hole—lies at the heart of our galaxy. Fresh evidence suggests that it last erupted two million years ago.
Hubble eyes a smoldering star
(Phys.org) —This new image, snapped by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the star HD 184738, also known as Campbell's hydrogen star. It is surrounded by plumes of reddish gas—the fiery red and orange ...
Carbon nanotube logic device operates on subnanowatt power
(Phys.org) —Researchers have demonstrated a new carbon nanotube (CNT)-based logic device that consumes just 0.1 nanowatts (nW) in its static ON and OFF states, representing the lowest reported value by ...
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© Phys.org™ 2003-2013