Communicating the science is the next step in the evolution of the UN climate panel | Adam Corner

The IPCC is taking guidance on how to communicate its crucial findings beyond speciality scientific and policy circles

The remit of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one of the more complicated jigsaw puzzles in the world.

Since 1988, it has overseen thousands of scientists pulling together tens of thousands of academic papers on atmospheric physics, meteorology, geography, marine science, economics, land-use and much more. A multi-layered process of expert assessment takes place every six or seven years where a set of carefully worded statements is approved by representatives of 120 of the world's governments, specifying what we know about the defining challenge of the 21st century: climate change.