Working group I of the IPCC’s fourth assessment report, which looked at “the physical science basis”, released its Summary for Policymakers in February 2007, while working group II revealed its summary on "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" in April. WWF has not commented on the summary of working group III’s document on climate change mitigation.
“There is a contrast between the immense wealth of the IPCC’s work and the politically inspired trimming back in the summaries for policymakers,” said Hans Verolme, director of WWF’s global climate change programme. “These working groups reports clearly laid the case for deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions – the summaries dilute this.”
WWF says that key findings that “fell through the cracks” from the working group I summary include the increased incidence of potentially destructive hurricanes, the warming of the upper Pacific ocean and the loss of glaciers in the European Alps. In the working group II summary, WWF believes that the IPCC was pressured to keep out references to increases in water stress and more droughts and floods.
“Governments should follow the IPCC’s scientific advice and agree to making the necessary emission cuts at the UN Climate Summit in Bali to protect life on Earth,” said Verolme.
The IPCC is meeting this week in Valencia, Spain, to put together its synthesis report on the fourth assessment.