Contribution to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) brings together many of the world's leading scientists to conduct comprehensive assessments of the current state of knowledge on climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences. The IPCC publishes its assessments in reports that are extensively reviewed by both the scientific community and governments from around the world. The IPCC released its Fourth Assessment Report in 2007 and will release its Fifth Assessment Report in 2013-2014. 

Canadais an active participant in the IPCC.  Many Canadian experts from government, universities, the private sector and other organizations make significant contributions to the preparation of IPCC assessment reports. Canada also has members on the IPCC Bureau, the Task Force Bureau on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and the Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Analysis.    

Environment Canada, as the hub for climate change science and research in Canada, is a prominent contributor to the IPCC. Environment Canada’s scientists have served lead roles in each of the IPCC’s four comprehensive assessment reports and continue to serve in this capacity for the Fifth Assessment Report (refer to the list of Canadian experts selected for lead roles in the Fifth Assessment Report). Environment Canada is also contributing projections of future climate, from climate models developed by the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma), in support of a globally coordinated process to develop new climate change scenarios for the Fifth Assessment Report.

Canada’s participation in the IPCC is coordinated by an IPCC Focal Point for Canada based at Environment Canada.  The Focal Point serves as a central point of contact in Canada to link the IPCC with the Canadian scientific community and the Government of Canada.  Main responsibilities of IPCC Focal Points include submitting expert nominations for IPCC activities, enabling the work of participants in the IPCC process, and coordinating integrated government comments on IPCC reports.