Climate Science and Policy Interface

Guillaume Falco

Successful interaction between climate science and policy is essential for decisions to be made based on the best available evidence. Long-term, systematic observation of global climate is the foundation of our understanding of climate change and its impacts, and the UNFCCC calls on Parties to undertake monitoring and cooperate on research.

Climate policy is informed by a number of international and regional organisations, including the World Meteorological Organisation, Integrated Assessment Modelling Consortium, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and World Climate Research Programme. Climate policy is interdisciplinary in nature, and is also informed by ecology, sociology and economics research. For example, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has informed Parties of the practical nature-based solutions to climate change generated by restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity.

The IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for integrating and assessing scientific information on climate change, for which it was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Its comprehensive global assessment reports include future projections of global temperatures and their potential consequences.