IPCC

The highlíght of today was being able to attend an IPCC (International Panal on Climate Change) forum. Conversation revolved mainly around the recent scandal involving the environmental scientist community, the core statements being upheld by the IPCC in the AR4, and the upcoming AR5 (the fifth assessment report of the IPCC). Key speakers on the panal included: Rajendra Pachauri (chairman of the IPCC) and the representatives of each IPCC working group. Pachauri initiated the dialogue by recounting the events of the recent scientific scandal. Although there is no formal investigation, the IPCC hopes to the look further into the matter for purposes of learning from the mistakes of "bad science". He reaffirmed that the IPCC receives data from a wide array of sources and that all published material is confirmed by participating governments. He briefly reviewed the content of AR4 but spent the majority of the time overviewing the content of AR5. The fundamental statements upheld by the IPCC in the AR4 include: -Warming in the climate system is unequivocal -Most of the observed increase in global warming is very likely due to an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. -Continued GHG emissions would induce many changes that would likely be larger than the current observed changes. -There have been unprecedented changes in the climate. The AR5 is expected to be published in a matter of two months. Some of the new additions in AR5 not found in AR4 include: ocean acidification, a common framework and currencies for impact, ocean impacts, and more thorough treatment of the costs of climate change. The AR5 basically shifts the focus from "climate change is real" to "here is the information that policy makers need to make good decisions for stakeholders".