You might’ve heard about them in the news, when an item about climate change mentions a specific report: the IPCC. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is part of the United Nations and tasked with assessing the science related to climate change. What does it look like when scientists collaborate to publish the IPCCs renowned reports?
In this weeks’ episode, our host Julie talks with Anna Pirani. Next to holding a Ph.D. in Oceanography, she is the head of Working Group I Technical Support Unit at the IPCC. As such, she was, for example, part of the creation of the special report ‘Global Warming of 1.5°C’ (2018, IPCC). What does her work with the IPCC look like and how did she get involved in this? And what role does she think scientists play in telling the past, present and future story of climate change?
Listen now to this episode and learn about the workings of the biggest international body working on climate change, and the role of scientists and expertise in climate debates.
“I feel like I got a look under the hood. I got to talk to Anna Pirani. As I was talking to her, I kept having this sense that I was scratching the very surface of what she knew. She really put a human face to the IPCC for me.”
– Julie, host
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Anna Pirani is the Head of the IPCC Working Group I Technical Support Unit.
She is responsible for the management, including providing scientific support, for the preparation and production of the Working Group I Sixth Assessment report (WGI AR6). She recently coordinated the preparation of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. Other activities She is involved in include the design process of visuals for the Summary for Policymakers with information designers and cognitive scientists, fostering the implementation of FAIR principles into the assessment process, and working on the development of a gender policy and implementation plan and practices that address inclusivity and implicit bias within the IPCC. Her background is in ocean dynamics and model development, she holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. This intergovernmental body provides regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC reports are also a key input into international climate change negotiations.
The IPCC is divided into three Working Groups and a Task Force. Working Group I deals with The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change, Working Group II with Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and Working Group III with Mitigation of Climate Change. The main objective of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is to develop and refine a methodology for the calculation and reporting of national greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
Read more on their website here >