Dr. Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC: Fifth Assessment Report well underway

Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, visited Finland on 14 January. He stated that the long-range activities of the IPCC have markedly increased people's knowledge of climate change.

Photo: Eija Vallinheimo (Paula Lehtomäki, Minister of the Environment; Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Petteri Taalas, Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute)

Fifth Assessment Report being compiled

At the seminar for experts organised by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, Dr. Pachauri discussed the drafting of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). The authors of the report have been selected from over 3,000 nominees. The intention is for the report to be ready in October 2014 so that it can be utilised at the COP 20. “The objective is to compile a solid and comprehensive report that contains the latest information on climate change. The contents will cover a broader spectrum than before. Among other things, the report will analyse the social and economic dimensions of climate change. The report will also include a more profound section on clouds and aerosols, where one of the authors is Veli-Matti Kerminen, Research Professor at the Finnish Meteorological Institute.”

This year, or much before the Fifth Assessment Report, the IPCC will publish a special report on weather extremes.

“It cannot be said that individual extreme weather events are directly caused by climate change. However, various extreme events will increase in both intensity and number,” Dr. Pachauri said, referring, for instance, to the floods in Australia.

The IPCC plays an important role

In the speech she gave at the seminar, Paula Lehtomäki, Minister of the Environment, stated that the IPCC has played an important role in climate change policy. Lehtomäki did not consider that the results achieved at the climate negotiations in Cancun in December were in any way insignificant; instead, the decisions made at the conference were important for continuing the negotiation process.

Petteri Taalas, Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, emphasised that the IPCC has succeeded in its tasks and that the scientific conclusions of the Fourth Assessment Report, published in 2007, are still valid. This was also shown by the InterAcaddemy Council (IAC), which has reviewed the work of the IPCC.

“However, the IPCC has worked for more than 20 years and it must be able to respond to the changed operating environment and to advances made in science. For these reasons, the measures and actions recommended by the IAC are necessary,” Dr. Pachauri said.

Additional information:

Finnish Meteorological Institute, Communications, tel. +358 9 1929 2230, communications@fmi.fi