The report, released on Friday in Stockholm, was finalised after a week of negotiations and discussions by representatives of 195 countries and scientists.
The draft report had stated that the rate of warming over the past 15 years (1998 to 2012) is smaller than the trend since 1951. Leading climate skeptics to suggest that the hiatus in the warming questioned the dominant argument that global warming was increasing and irreversible and that human activity was largely responsible for it.
The IPCC's most recent assessment, the fifth since its inception, has made it clear that there is unequivocal evidence that global warming is taking place and that human activity, especially combustion of fossil fuels, is greatly responsible for it.
"Due to natural variability, trends based on short records are very sensitive to the beginning and end dates and do not in general reflect long-term climate trends. As one example, the rate of warming over the past 15 years (1998-2012), which begins with a strong El Nino is smaller than the rate calculated since 1951," the approved Summary for Policymakers released on Friday states.
The slowdown in the warming rate was one of the most controversial elements of the IPCC's report. There was overwhelming concern that the "decline in warming" could send the wrong signals to governments as they seek to reduce the emissions in the period up to 2020 and work on a new global regime to tackle climate change. Several governments have in their initial comments to the draft report stressed on the need for clarity on the decline in warming trends and some had called for it to be deleted altogether.
Germany had suggested that statement on the decreased warming trend should be deleted arguing that a 15 year period of observation is "not sufficient" to give "a qualified analysis" of the global mean surface temperatures. Germany has pointed to the World Meteorological Organisation's definition of "climate" which calls for an analysis of a 30-year period to question the importance of the 15-year trend included in the draft report.
Hungary has also stressed that 15 years is too short a period for climate assessment. India has requested that report provide temperature trends between 2000 and 2010 or for the post 2005 period, in order to highlight and clarify the observed slowing down of warming in the recent past.
The US has asked that the report authors state clearly if there is a deceleration in warming, and the level of scientific certainty there exists for back this up. This would aid policy makers. The United States argued that the reference on recent warming trends can be easily misinterpreted.
The IPCC opted in the end not to delete the mention, but clarify and contextualise the issue. Scientists explained that the slowdown in warming rate could be on account of natural variations in weather, and other factors like greater than expected quantities of volcanic ash, a decline in heat from the sun during a current 11-year solar cycle, more heat being absorbed by oceans.
This report, prepared by the Working Group I of the IPCC is the first of three comprising the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC. The report will feed into the UN-sponsored climate change negotiations to be held in Warsaw in November. Governments look for indicators and directions from the IPCC reports to provide a scientific basis to climate change related policy.
"The findings of the Fifth Assessment Report will provide the scientific basis on which governments will be able to consider different options and solutions to climate change within the ongoing UNFCCC process, and I hope that informed, enlightened and forward looking policy making will actively use scientific assessments produced by the IPCC," panel chair RK Pachauri explained.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the United Nations and World Meteorological Organisation, is tasked with providing scientific guidance to governments across the world in developing policies to counter climate change. The IPCC is not a research organisation. Under the aegis of IPCC, scientists, researchers, think tanks, and not for profit organisations assess and process the work in the field of science relating to climate change.
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