Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

World Meteorological Organization Headquarters

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a global organization that organizes and analyses the science related to climate change. It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and it's designed to give policymakers regular information on the scientific basis on climate change, it impacts, future risks, and options for adaptation. The IPCC works to collect a wide variety and balance of sources and interpret what the information means for the decision-makers. Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the IPCC, and it aims to review materials extensively while reflecting a large range of views and expertise. When reports are analyzed, there are three different stipulations that the group looks at: approval, adoption, and acceptance. It does not conduct its own research. All countries who are a part of the WMO and the UN are open to membership, and there are currently 195 nations that are members.

IPCC Meeting 2014

The panel organizes many events and meetings with other groups every year in order to make sure that its members are all on the same page of the issue. For example, on December 7, 2015, the IPCC gathered with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the UNIESCO Headquarters in Paris. The purpose of this event was to simply allocate methods of reaching out to the public and raising awareness on climate change.

As far as students who who may want to become involved with this organizations, it seems that all members who are involved with the IPCC are either scientists or policy-makers, so getting involved as a student may be difficult. Anybody who registers for the events are experts in the field, and I am not entirely sure that a simply concerned person would be able to involve themselves with the IPCC.