AR5 provides a clear and up to date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. It consists of three Working Group (WG)
reports and a Synthesis Report (SYR). Information about how the AR5 was prepared can be found here.
Synthesis Report
The Synthesis Report distils and integrates the findings of the three working group contributions to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report -- the most comprehensive assessment of climate change yet
undertaken, produced by hundreds of scientists -- as well as the two Special Reports produced during this cycle.
The WG I contribution provides a comprehensive assessment of the physical science basis of climate change. The report includes a detailed assessment
of climate change observations throughout the climate system; dedicated chapters on sea level change, biogeochemical cycles, clouds and aerosols, and regional climate
phenomena; extensive information from models, including near-term and long-term climate projections; and a new comprehensive atlas of global and regional climate
projections for 35 regions of the world.
The WG II contribution considers the vulnerability and exposure of human and natural
systems, the observed impacts and future risks of climate change, and the potential for and limits to adaptation. The chapters
of the report assess risks and opportunities for societies, economies, and ecosystems around the world.
The WG III contribution assesses the options for mitigating climate change and their
underlying technological, economic and institutional requirements. It transparently lays out risks, uncertainty and ethical
foundations of climate change mitigation policies on the global, national and sub-national level, investigates mitigation measures for
all major sectors and assesses investment and finance issues.
The IPCC is preparing a Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C
above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. For
background, timeline, documentation and other relevant links click
here.
