The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, provides international scientific assessments on climate change. It evaluates and synthesizes published research about the physical climate system, climate impacts and risks, and ways to reduce or adapt to climate change.
The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. It does not function as a conventional research laboratory and generally does not conduct original experiments. Instead, thousands of experts assess the existing scientific, technical, and socioeconomic literature, with drafts undergoing extensive review by experts and governments.
Its work is organized into three main working groups: Working Group I covers the physical science basis; Working Group II examines impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability; and Working Group III studies mitigation. The IPCC’s assessment reports inform governments and international negotiations, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. WMO and UNEP helped create the panel, but IPCC is the canonical answer for the body that produces the assessments.