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President hosts climate change dignitary tonight at State House dinner
CHAIR OF the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Dr. Rajendra Pachauri is due here today on a one-day visit before proceeding to the Working Group II South and Central America Regional Expert Meeting in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil from tomorrow. The visiting scientist will be the guest of honour at a dinner tonight at State House, where he and President Bharrat Jagdeo will have discussions on climate change.
Guyana’s REDD initiative, in the form of a Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and this country’s landmark agreement with the Kingdom of Norway are likely to be among the talking points in the course of their discussions tonight.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon indicated at his last press conference Friday that Dr Pachauri’s visit, is part of the overall thrust of like-minded parties to further the case that forests have a role to play in climate mitigation and adaptation, something Guyana has been pressing for with its Low-Carbon Development Strategy and REDD+ forest initiatives, such as the preservation MOU signed with the Kingdom of Norway.
Dr. Pachauri’s visit comes on the heels of the visit and announcement by Norway’s Environment Minister, Erik Solheim, who last weekend announced that his government has approved this year’s tranche of US$40 million as part of the agreement, due to Guyana’s meeting the benchmarks that were set.
Genesis
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) established the IPCC in 1988, with the objective of assessing the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change in what the body referred to as a “policy-relevant, but not policy-prescriptive” manner.
The IPCC assesses peer-reviewed and published scientific and technical literature to produce authoritative, policy-relevant, state-of-the-art, scientific reports
The aim of the WMO and the UNEP was to provide the governments of the world with “a clear scientific view of what is happening to the world’s climate.”
“The initial task for the IPCC, as outlined in the UN General Assembly Resolution 43/53 of December6, 1988 was to prepare a comprehensive review and recommendations with respect to the state of knowledge of the science of climate change; social and economic impact of climate change, possible response strategies and elements for inclusion in a possible future international convention on climate,” the body said.
It is also mandated 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 said its reports should be neutral with respect to policy, although they may need to deal objectively with scientific, technical and socio-economic factors relevant to the application of particular policies.
Not just a science issue
According to the Panel’s website, the scientific evidence that the first IPCC Assessment Report of 1990 brought up unveiled the importance of climate change as a topic “deserving a political platform among countries to tackle its consequences.”
The IPCC therefore played a decisive role in leading to the creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the key international treaty to reduce global warming, and cope with the consequences of climate change.
“Since then, the IPCC has delivered, on a regular basis the most comprehensive scientific reports about climate change produced worldwide, the Assessment Reports. It continued to respond to the need of the UNFCCC for information on scientific technical matters through Special Reports, Technical Papers and Methodology Reports. Methodologies and guidelines were prepared to help parties under the UNFCCC preparing their national greenhouse gas inventories,” the body noted on its website.
It said the IPCC’s Second Assessment Report of 1995 provided key input in the way to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The Third Assessment Report came out in 2001 and the fourth, during the course of 2007. The last one was entitled ‘Climate Change 2007’, and brought to the attention of the world “the scientific understanding of the present changes in our climate and led the organization to be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize at the end of that same year.”
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) is due for release in 2014, and will include chapters on Observed Changes and their Causes, Future Changes, Impacts and Risks, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures, and Transformations and Changes in Systems.
Along with Comprehensive Assessment Reports, the IPCC has produced several Special Reports on various topics of growing interest, and many other papers and contributions to the advancements of the climate change science.
The participation of the scientific community in the work of the IPCC has been growing greatly, in terms of both authors and contributors involved in the writing and the reviewing of the reports and of geographic distribution and topics covered by the reports.
Structure of the IPCC
The main bodies of the IPCC are the three Working Groups (WGs), the three Working Group Plenaries and the IPCC Plenary. WGI (Science) assesses the available scientific information on climate change; WG II (Impacts) assesses the environmental and socio-economic impacts; and WG III (Response/Mitigation) formulates response strategies.
According to the body’s website, the IPCC is “a huge and yet very tiny organisation.” While thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis as authors, contributors and reviewers, the IPCC has a core staff of only ten people.
The IPCC Secretariat supports the scientists’ work by planning, coordinating and overseeing all IPCC activities.
The IPCC is currently organised in three Working Groups and a Task Force. A Technical Support Unit assists these bodies.
The government of the developed country co-chair of that Working Group financially supports and hosts the TSUs. Working Groups also meet at the Plenary at the level of representatives of governments.
In addition to the Working Groups and Task Force, further Task Groups and Steering Groups may be established for a limited or longer duration to consider a specific topic or question.
Focal points
The body said that each IPCC member country has a Focal point, which the relevant authority in that country identifies. If there is no focal point identified, all correspondence is directed to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Panel and the Plenary Sessions
The Panel meets in Plenary Sessions at the level of Government Representatives for all member countries approximately once a year at the plenary level. Hundreds of officials and experts from relevant ministries, agencies and Research Institutions from member countries and from observer organisations attend the plenary sessions.
During plenary sessions, the Panel decisions are taken; such as the election of the IPCC Chair, IPCC Bureau and the Task Force Bureau, the structure and mandate of IPCC Working Groups and Task Forces, IPCC Principles and Procedures, the work-plan of the IPCC, Budget, Scope and outline of IPCC reports, and Approval, Adoption and Acceptance of reports.
IPCC Bureau
According to the IPCC, the Bureau comprises the IPCC Chair, the IPCC Vice-Chairs, the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Working Groups and the Co-chairs of the Task Force. “They are presently 31 members elected by the Panel during the Plenary Session. They select the authors’ teams for Reports and assist Co-Chairs through the preparation of Reports. Their mandate normally corresponds to the duration of an Assessment cycle (5-6 years). They shall be highly qualified experts in their field and all the regions around the world should be represented in a balance manner,” the IPCC said on its website.
Dr Rajendra K Pachauri was born in Nainital, India, on August 20, 1940. He assumed his current responsibilities as Head of Tata Energy Research Institute in 1981, first as Director, and since April 2001, as Director-General. Dr Pachauri was elected as Chairman of IPCC and took charge as Chairman from April 20, 2002 onwards. He has been active in several international forums dealing with the subject of climate change and its policy dimensions.
Commencing his career with the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, where he held several managerial positions, Dr Pachauri joined the North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, where he obtained an MS in Industrial Engineering in 1972, a PhD in Industrial Engineering and a PhD in Economics, and also served as Assistant Professor (August 1974 — May 1975) and Visiting Faculty Member (Summer 1976 and 1977) in the Department of Economics and Business.
On his return to India, he joined the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, as Member Senior Faculty (June 1975 — June 1979) and went on to become Director, Consulting and Applied Research Division (July 1979 — March 1981). He joined TERI as Director in April 1981.
He has also been a Visiting Professor, Resource Economics at the College of Mineral and Energy Resources, West Virginia University (August 1981 — August 1982); Senior Visiting Fellow, Resource Systems Institute, East — West Center, USA (May — June 1982); and Visiting Research Fellow, The World Bank, Washington, DC (June — September 1990). Recognising his vast knowledge and experience in the energy — environment field, the United Nations Development Programme appointed him as a part time Advisor in the fields of Energy and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, 1994 — 1999.
To acknowledge his immense contribution to the field of environment, he has been awarded the Padma Bhushan – one of India’s highest civilian awards that recognises distinguished service of a high order to the nation in any field (January 2001).
