Find out more about climate change

The following provides links to some introductory reading in this area.

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. 
  
  The synthesis report from the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (2014) remains the best overall assessment of the science, potential impacts and possible responses to climate change, drawing together and integrating the range of policy-relevant scientific, technical and socio-economic information. 

• Learn about climate change
  The Grantham Research Institute at LSE have compiled a series of resources on climate change, including commentary on recent news, an FAQ, a jargon buster and  guide to useful climate websites.

• Climate change explained
  A Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) page summarising the causes, effects and impacts of climate change.

• Advancing the Science of Climate Change
  US National Research Council

  A report by a US National Research Council committee as part of a series of studies requested by the US Congress. It concludes that a strong, credible body of scientific evidence shows that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems.

• Climate change: A Summary of the Science
  Royal Society - 2010

  This guide reviews the current scientific evidence on climate change and its drivers, stressing the uncertainties and areas of debate within the scientific community.

• Building a low-carbon economy – the UK’s contribution to tackling climate change
  Committee on Climate Change - 2008

  The first chapter of the Committee's 2008 report provides a review of developments in climate science and their global implications.

• Climate guide
  Met Office

  An introduction to climate, how it might change in the future, and the science behind climate change.

In late 2009/early 2010 there were two widely-publicised controversies about climate science. The first concerned leaked emails between prominent climate scientists at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and elsewhere, which purported to show attempts to misrepresent some climate data. The second stemmed from errors discovered in the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including a highly publicized mistake in the melting rate of Himalayan glaciers (see the review by PBL, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency).

Given the significance of these issues, they were the subject of a number of subsequent reviews focused on climate science and the IPCC assessment process:

• House of Commons Science and Technology Committee
  UK

  The Committee carried out an inquiry into the CRU email controversy, and found that there was no deliberate attempt to mislead. Scientists were criticised for not sharing data adequately.

• The Independent Climate Change Email Review
  UK

  The review, established by UEA, and chaired by Sir Muir Russell, concluded that their rigour and honesty as scientists was not in doubt, and that their behaviour had not prejudiced the advice given to policy-makers, but that the scientists had failed to display a proper degree of openness.

• The Science Assessment Panel
  UK

  The panel, also established by UEA, and chaired by Lord Oxburgh, reviewed research papers published by the CRU and saw no evidence of any deliberate scientific malpractice. They were however very surprised that the work had not been carried out in close collaboration with professional statisticians and highlighted the mutual benefits from a closer collaboration and interaction between CRU and a wider scientific group outside this specialised field.

• The InterAcademy Council (IAC)
  International

  The IAC, an organisation of the world's scientific academies, undertook a review of the processes and procedures of the IPCC. It found that the IPCC assessment process had been successful overall but that the IPCC needed to continue to adapt in order to continue serving society well in the future. It made a series of recommendations on governance and management, its review process, characterizing and communicating uncertainty, communications, and transparency in the assessment process. If adopted in their entirety, the IAC considered that their recommendations would fundamentally reform IPCC’s management structure while enhancing its ability to conduct an authoritative assessment.

  The IPCC finalised its decisions [pdf]  in response to the IAC review in May 2011 and the IAC issued a statement [pdf] saying that it was “pleased that so many of our report’s recommendations were adopted” and that it hoped its report “will continue to inform management of the IPCC”