Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Some Little-Known Facts

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is based in a Geneva and is a United Nations (UN) body. Here is what the IPCC website says about itself.

The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open
and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic 
information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of 
human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for 
adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC does not carry out research nor 
does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It 
bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published 
scientific/technical literature. Its role, organisation, participation 
and general procedures are laid down in the "Principles Governing IPCC 
Work" 

Let's take the confusing adjectives and subordinate clauses out of the first sentence:

The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

and now see only what is left:

The role of the IPCC is to assess ... information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

Now, maybe I am just cynical, but it seems to me that this starts from the assumption that climate change is "human-induced". It does not take a very cynical leap to suppose that, if IPCC have the power to decide what is "relevant" information and been told to assume that climate change is human-induced, it is just possible that they could be a little bit inclined to overlook information that does not support the assumption and a teensy bit inclined to overplay that which does.

Now let's look at the rest of their Terms of Reference - remember, this is drawn from IPCC's own website and I have given you the link to check it out for yourselves - to see what they actually do.

The IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate 
related data or other relevant parameters. It bases its assessment 
mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature. 
Its role, organisation, participation and general procedures are laid 
down in the "Principles Governing IPCC Work" 

Forgive my cynicism again, but it looks as if they don't actually do anything much, except read other people's papers "mainly peer-reviewed and published ..." (but not necessarily either), and draw their own conclusions from them.

You can draw your own conclusions on the basis of however much you want to explore for yourselves - I am not the sort of politician who wants to ram my own views down your throats - but these are the conclusions I draw from this and a lot of other stuff that I have found on the internet and linked in here for you to look at if you want to check them out.

• IPCC is a political organisation (Intergovernmental).
• It has been told to look for evidence of human-induced climate change.
• It has been told to assess "risks" arising therefrom.
• It has been told to assess "potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation". [Seems to me that "mitigation" further assumes that the impacts must be damaging.]
• It has to power to decide what is (and is not) "relevant".

Now, I suppose such Terms of Reference could allow it to conclude that the human-induced element (if any) of climate change is so tiny as to be almost unmeasurable, but I should say that the deck was just a wee bit stacked against it.

The Strange Case of the "Missing" Document

When you check out the IPCC's website, take a look at their publications page. You will find the following statement:

The full text of IPCC Special Reports published since 1998 and of the 
IPCC Third Assessment Report can be accessed from this website. 
Summaries of these and other IPCC Reports as well as IPCC Technical 
Papers are provided as pdf files in English and UN languages. They can 
be accessed directly from the list of publications. Translations into 
non-UN languages are also provided.  

Note my emphasis on "since 1998". Why only since 1998? IPCC's First Assessment Report was published in 1990. Try to find it. I can't. If you ask IPCC for a copy, they will tell you it is out of print and if you press them for a suggestion as to where you might find one, they will tell you they don't know and the working group that produced it no longer exists.

Now, I find it difficult to believe that IPCC, with all the facilities of the United Nations at its disposal can be so short of web space that it cannot leave its Audit Trail on the web. Yet its very first report is missing. For a hint as to why this might be, take a look at The Hockey Stick - A New Low in Climate Science and draw your own conclusions. If anyone can find a mirror site carrying the IPCC's First Assessment Report, please email me the URL.

Updated 12 Apr 07