A Critical Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

About this book

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has become a hugely influential institution. It is the authoritative voice on the science on climate change, and an exemplar of an intergovernmental science-policy interface. This book introduces the IPCC as an institution, covering its origins, history, processes, participants, products, and influence. Discussing its internal workings and operating principles, it shows how IPCC assessments are produced and how consensus is reached between scientific and policy experts from different institutions, countries, and social groups. A variety of practices and discourses – epistemic, diplomatic, procedural, communicative – that make the institution function are critically assessed, allowing the reader to learn from its successes and failures. This volume is the go-to reference for researchers studying or active within the IPCC, as well as invaluable for students concerned with global environmental problems and climate governance.

Contents

1. Why The Need For This Book? / M. Hulme and K. De Pryck

Part I. Governance:
2. Origin And Design / T. Skodvin
3. Procedures / O. Leclerc
4. Venues / F. Hartz and K. De Pryck
5. Reports / J. E. Livingston
6. Learning / S. Beck and B. Siebenhüner

Part II. Participation:
7. Participant Diversity / A. Standring
8. Early Career Researchers / K. M. Gustafsson
9. Governments / H. Hughes
10. Observers / Y. Yamineva
11. Peer Review / P. N. Edwards

Part III. Knowledges:
12. Disciplines / A. C. Petersen
13. Indigenous Knowledge Systems / B. Van Bavel, J. Petrasek MacDonald and D. Sambo Dorough
14. Climate Models / H. Guillemot
15. Scenarios / B. Cointe
16. Controversies / S. Asayama, K. De Pryck and M. Hulme

Part IV. Processes:
17. Uncertainty / J. O'Reilly
18. Integration / M. Vardy
19. Scientific Consensus-Seeking / M. Hulme
20. Governmental Approval / K. De Pryck
21. Policy Relevance And Neutrality / M. Mahony

Part V. Influence:
22. Political Context / R. Lidskog and G. Sundqvist
23. Civic Epistemologies / J. C. H. Miguel, R. R. Taddei and M. Monteiro
24. Boundary Objects / B. Lahn
25. Visuals / I. Lorenzoni and J. Harold
26. Communications / W. Pearce and A. Lindemer
27. Re-Imagining The IPCC: A Proposal / C. A. Miller
28. What Has This Book Achieved? / K. De Pryck and M. Hulme

References
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Kari De Pryck is a Fellow from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in the Laboratoire PACTE at the Université Grenoble Alpes. She is interested in knowledge production on global environmental problems and has been studying the IPCC's internal workings since 2013 using ethnographic methods. She is a member of the first research project that was given official access to the IPCC Working Groups for the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Reports (AR6).

Mike Hulme is a Professor of human geography at the University of Cambridge. He has spent his career studying climate change. In 2007 he received a personal certificate from the Nobel Committee marking his 'significant contribution' to the work of the IPCC, which received a joint award of the Nobel Peace Prize that year. He is the author of Why We Disagree About Climate Change (Cambridge University Press, 2009).


Contributors:
- M. Hulme
- K. De Pryck
- T. Skodvin
- O. Leclerc
- F. Hartz
- J. E. Livingston
- S. Beck
- B. Siebenhüner
- A. Standring
- K. M. Gustafsson
- H. Hughes
- Y. Yamineva
- P. N. Edwards
- A. C. Petersen
- B. Van Bavel
- J. Petrasek MacDonald
- Sambo Dorough
- H. Guillemot
- B. Cointe
- S. Asayama
- J. O'Reilly
- M. Vardy
- M. Mahony
- R. Lidskog
- G. Sundqvist
- J. C. H. Miguel
- R. R. Taddei
- M. Monteiro
- B. Lahn
- I. Lorenzoni
- J. Harold
- W. Pearce
- A. Lindemer
- C. A. Miller