The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) created the IPCC to assess scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information about climate change. The United Nations endorsed its creation later that year. Its establishment reflected growing concern that increasing greenhouse-gas concentrations could alter the climate and produce serious social and economic consequences.
The IPCC does not conduct most of its own original experiments. Instead, it evaluates and synthesizes the published scientific literature, then prepares assessment reports, special reports, and methodology reports. Governments and expert reviewers examine the drafts, and member governments approve the summaries for policymakers through a formal consensus process.
The IPCC is often mistaken for a climate research laboratory or a body that sets emissions targets. It does neither: it assesses evidence and options, while governments decide policy. The organization is supported by 195 member governments and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with its secretariat hosted by the WMO. Its first assessment report appeared in 1990.