The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was
established in 1988 by two United Nations Organizations, the
World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations
Environment Programme to assess “the scientific, technical and
socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of the
risk of human-induced climate change.” Review by experts and
governments is an essential part of the IPCC process. For its
first task, the IPCC was asked to prepare, based on available
scientific information, a report on all aspects relevant to
climate change and its impacts and to formulate realistic
response strategies. The first assessment report of the IPCC
served as the basis for negotiating the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since then, the IPCC has
remained the most important source for the Convention’s
scientific, technical and socio-economic information. The
relationship between the UNFCCC and the IPCC has become a model
for interaction between science and decision makers