How is the IPCC run?

IPCC Bureau

The IPCC Bureau, currently composed of 31 members, is elected by the Plenary of the IPCC. They select the author teams for Reports and assist working group Co-Chairs through the preparation of Reports. Their term of office corresponds to the duration of an Assessment cycle (5-6 years). Bureau members are experts in the field of climate change. The Plenary also tries to ensure there is geographic balance in the Bureau. The Bureau is composed of the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the IPCC, the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the three IPCC Working Groups and the Co-Chairs of the Task Force Bureau on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

  • Dr Rajendra Pachauri is the current Chair of the IPCC and is based at The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India.
  • Dr David Wratt of NIWA, New Zealand is a member of the Bureau, as a Vice-Chair of Working Group I.

A full list of the current members of the IPCC Bureau can be found here.

The Bureau of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFB) oversees the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. It is composed of two Co-chairs, who are also members of the IPCC Bureau, and 12 members.

  • Dr Len Brown of the Ministry for the Environment shares a position on the TFB with a representative from Australia.

A full list of the current members of the IPCC TFB can be found here.

IPCC Secretariat

The IPCC Secretariat provides administrative support for all IPCC activities.

The IPCC Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is hosted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The IPCC-sponsoring organisations, WMO and UNEP, provide the Secretariat with the IPCC Secretary and the Deputy Secretary respectively.

  • Dr Renate Christ is the current Secretary of the IPCC.

Technical Support Units

The Technical Support Units (TSUs) of the IPCC Working Groups and Task Force support and coordinate the Working Group's activities, including arranging the authors' meetings and assisting them during the draft of the reports.

The government of the developed country Co-Chair assumes the primary responsibility for funding the TSU, including office space, equipment and staff.

The TSUs for the AR5 are hosted by:

  • Switzerland, Working Group I
  • USA, Working Group II
  • Germany, Working Group III
  • Japan, Task Force on the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Observer Organisations

Apart from government representatives from IPCC Member Countries, sessions of the IPCC and the IPCC Working Groups are attended by representatives of observer organisations. Any non-profit body or agency, whether national or international, governmental or intergovernmental, which is qualified in matters covered by the IPCC, may be admitted as an observer organisation. Organisations which already have an observer status with WMO; UNEP or UNFCCC are considered to be observers of the IPCC if they request so, and subject to acceptance by the Panel. The IPCC has at present 29 observer organisations among UN bodies and organisations, and 60 non-UN observers.

Funding of the IPCC

The IPCC is funded by regular contributions from its parent organisations WMO and UNEP, the UNFCCC, and voluntary contributions by its member countries. WMO also hosts the IPCC Secretariat and WMO and UNEP provide one staff member each for the IPCC Secretariat.

These contributions form the IPCC Trust Fund which is administered by the IPCC Secretariat under the Financial Regulations of the WMO. The Trust Fund supports the IPCC activities, in particular the participation of developing country experts in the IPCC work, and publication and translation of IPCC reports.

The IPCC Trust Fund also provides some financial support to assist the developing country Co-Chairs perform their duties, in particular to cover administrative and travel costs.

Governments provide further substantial support for activities of the IPCC, in particular through hosting Technical Support Units, supporting the participation of experts from their country in IPCC activities, and hosting Working Group report and plenary meetings.

Authors of the IPCC process do not receive payment from the IPCC for their time spent working on IPCC reports or participation in meetings. However, experts from developing countries and countries with economies in transition (those countries that were created after the break-up of the former Soviet Union) receive funding from the IPCC Trust Fund to assist with the direct costs associated with attending lead author and other expert meetings, which take place in various locations around the world. Participants from developed countries generally obtain travel funding from their governments or through their institutions.

All scientists contribute their time to IPCC activities unpaid or with support provided by their respective scientific host institutions or governments.

The only fully paid employees associated with the IPCC are staff of the Secretariat and staff of the various Technical Support Units.