The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Panel meets in plenary session about twice a year. It may meet more often for the approval of reports.

The Panel controls the IPCC’s structure, procedures, work programme, and budget and accepts and approves IPCC reports. The Panel is the IPCC corporate entity. The IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations (UN). Its job is to “provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies“. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) set up the IPCC in 1988. The UN endorsed the creation of the IPCC later that year. It has a secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by the WMO. It has 195 member states who govern the IPCC. The member states elect a bureau of scientists to serve through an assessment cycle. A cycle is usually six to seven years. The bureau selects experts in their fields to prepare IPCC reports. There is a formal nomination process by governments and observer organizations to find these experts. The IPCC has three working groups and a task force, which carry out its scientific work.

Links:
Opening of the Sixth-fifth Session of the IPCC

65th Plenary Session of IPCC suspended / Statement by the IPCC Chair Jim Skea on suspension of the 65th Plenary Session of the IPCC