IPCC Special Reports

Following the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requested advice from the IPCC to limit climate warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The IPCC aimed to assess the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways.

Subsequent research by our School estimated the variation in the Earth's pre-industrial climate. We attributed observed variations in climate to radiative forcing, and estimated detectable greenhouse gas contributions to surface temperature from across the 19th century.  

This research is important because it is the baseline used by the IPCC to assess climate change stabilisation targets. 

Analysis of the pre-industrial climate led our researchers to conclude that correcting this baseline reduced the amount of warming in future by 0.2 degrees before the Paris Agreement targets are exceeded. In addition, this correction meant that there was a corresponding reduction of up to 40% in the remaining future budget for carbon dioxide emissions.

The resulting 2018 landmark IPCC Special Report 'Global Warming of 1.5°C', was arguably one of the most important and influential reports in the IPCC's history.

The IPCC cited work from our University researchers, including findings applied directly in calculating future emissions allowable without exceeding 1.5°C warming.  

In addition, IPCC exclusively selected several of our researchers as Expert Reviewers due to their world-leading expertise.

Expert Reviewers:

• Dr Vivian Scott
• Professor David Reay

Our research

The IPCC recognised and cited the work by our researchers throughout this report.

You can find out more about their research under each of their profiles below:

The report has guided climate change policies across the globe. For example, in 2019, via assessment by the UK Committee on Climate Change, the UK Parliament moved to strengthen its climate target by passing legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK's net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100% relative to 1990 levels by 2050. 

The report's findings underpin the subsequent strengthening of climate change targets worldwide, with many major economies (together around 70% of the world's economy) now following the UK in setting net-zero emissions targets in 2019.  

The report

You can read the IPCC Special Report 'Global Warming of 1.5°C' and additional information on the IPCC website.

IPCC website Special Report 'Global Warming of 1.5 degrees C' 

Following the advice of the independent Committee on Climate Change, I am committing to legislate for the UK to adopt a new legally binding net-zero emissions target by 2050. We will be the first major economy to do so.

Ending our contribution to global warming by 2050 can be the defining decision of this generation in fulfilling our responsibility to the next.

The IPCC Special Report 'Climate Change and Land' addressed greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in land-based ecosystems, land use and sustainable land management in relation to climate change adaptation and mitigation, desertification, land degradation and food security. 

This report was a landmark study by 107 experts from 52 countries and broke new ground for IPCC.

It was the first IPCC report to be produced by all three Working Groups collaborating with the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI).  In addition, it was also the first IPCC report with more authors from developing countries than authors from developed countries. The report was marked by an inspiring degree of collaboration and interdisciplinarity, reflecting the wide scope of the mandate given to authors by the Panel. 

It brought together authors not only from the IPCC's traditional scientific communities but also those from sister UN organisations, including:

• Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES),
• Science-Policy Interface of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) 
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).

Our School's research provided crucial input to the IPCC Special Report.

In addition, IPCC exclusively selected several of our researchers as Lead Authors, Contributing Authors and Expert Reviewers due to their world-leading expertise.

Authors and Expert Reviewers

• Professor Mark Rounsevell was selected as a Lead Author
• Dr Peter Alexander was selected as a Contributing Author
• Professor Gabi Hegerl was selected as a Expert Reviewer
• Professor Dave Reay was selected as a Expert Reviewer

Our research

The IPCC recognised and cited the work by our researchers throughout this report.

You can find out more about their research under each of their profiles below:

The report

You can read the IPCC Special Report 'Climate Change and Land' and additional information on the IPCC website.

IPCC website - Special Report 'Climate Change and Land' 

This 2019 Special Report assesses new knowledge since the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15).  

It provides an assessment of how the ocean and cryosphere have, and are, expected to change with ongoing global warming, the risks and opportunities these changes bring to ecosystems and people, and mitigation, adaptation and governance options for reducing future risks.

Our School's research provided crucial input to the IPCC Special Report.

In addition, IPCC exclusively selected several of our researchers as Contributing Authors and Expert Reviewers due to their world-leading expertise.

Authors and Expert Reviewers

• Professor Murray Roberts was selected as Contributing Author for 'Chapter 5: Changing ocean, marine ecosystems and dependent communities.'
• Dr Sebastian Hennige was selected as Contributing Author for 'Chapter 5: Changing ocean, marine ecosystems and dependent communities.'
• Professor Peter Nienow was selected as a Expert Reviewer for 'Chapter 3: Polar regions.'

Our research

The IPCC recognised and cited the work by our researchers throughout this report.

You can find out more about their research under each of their profiles below:

Changing ocean, marine ecosystems, and dependent communities

Our research on marine ecosystems, particularly seamounts, coldwater corals and sponges were used for the assessment of climate impacts on open ocean and deep seafloor ecosystem structure and functioning. They also helped inform the levels of risk under future conditions of global warming.  

Polar regions

We have made key contributions on sea-level rise for the Report. The Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica and Greenland, which are a focus of our data gathering and modelling efforts, were highlighted in the Summary for Policymakers as key sources of future sea-level rise.

The IPCC is also informed by major national programmes such as the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) numerical-modelling programme dedicated to providing greatly improved predictions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet's fate and its contribution to global sea-level rise over the next 200 years.

The BAS programme has been underpinned by geophysical measurements of the shape and condition of Antarctica's ice-sheet bed acquired and processed into subglacial topographic maps led by our School researchers.  Numerical-modelling equations and strategies developed at our University have contributed to greatly-reduced uncertainties in BAS' programme for numerically modelling the ice-sheet's future. 

We are also conducting research with space and satellite data on observing and projecting contributions from polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers to rising sea levels. Our work with organisations such as the European Space Agency has shown that Greenland today is losing ice seven times faster than two decades ago. 

You can find out more about our work in polar regions within this website:

The report

You can read the IPCC Special Report 'Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate' and additional information on the IPCC website.

IPCC website - Special Report 'Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate'