ABSTRACT
Increasing concern over the potentially adverse
effects of anthropogenic activity on global climate
led to the establishment in 1988 of the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under the
aegis of the World Meteorological Organisation
and the United Nations Environment Programme.
The aims of the IPCC were (a) to assess available
scientific information on climate change; (b) to
assess the environmental and socio-economic
impacts of climate change; and (c) to formulate
response strategies. The IPCC First Assessment
Report was completed in 1990 (Houghton et al.,
1990), and a Supplementary Report (Houghton
et al., 1992) was produced in 1992. A Second
Assessment Report appeared in 1995 (Houghton
et al., 1996), which updated the information
contained in the First Assessment, and which also
involved an extensive review of issues related to
the economic and social aspects of climate change
(Bruce et al., 1995; Watson et al., 1996). These
included the likely impacts of climate change on a
range of different environments (drylands, coastal
areas, mountain regions, etc.) and human activities
(e.g. agriculture, water resources management,
fisheries, forestry), as well as possible adaptation
and mitigation options. A Third Assessment was
published in July 2001 (Houghton et al., 2001),
and was accompanied by reports on the impacts
of, adaptations to, and vulnerability of, society to
climate change (McCarthy et al., 2001), and
possible mitigation strategies (Metz et al., 2001).
