Publication Date
11 November 2015
Lessons from Madrid for next climate talks
Image
Science
Objective
- To summarize some of the scientific “lessons learned” in the 20 years since publication of the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- Focus is on advances in the area of climate change detection and attribution (“D&A”)
Impact
- The 1995 Second Assessment Report reached the historic finding that: “The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate”
- DOE-funded ‘climate fingerprint’ research made a significant contribution to this finding
- After publication of the 1995 IPCC report, the “discernible human influence” conclusion was subject to criticism
- This criticism was addressed in many subsequent fingerprint studies
- The “discernible human influence” has consistently been affirmed – and confirmed – by subsequent fingerprint research, and by post-1995 IPCC, NAS, and CCSP assessments
Summary
Provides a personal perspective on scientific lessons learned from the November 1995 plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Point of Contact
Benjamin Santer
Institution(s)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Funding Program Area(s)
Publication
“Lessons From Madrid For Next Climate Talks”. 2015. Nature 527. doi:10.1038/527165a.