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This technical document has been produced by Working Group III (WGIII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the third part of Climate Change 2001, the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the IPCC. It focuses on the mitigation of climate change. It consists of 10 chapters covering the technological and biological options to mitigate climate change, their costs and ancillary benefits, the barriers to their implementation, and policies, measures and instruments to overcome these barriers.

This technical document has been produced by Working Group II (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the second part of Climate Change 2001, the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the IPCC. It focuses on the environmental, social, and economic consequences of climate change and potential adaptation responses. It consists of 19 chapters covering the sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability of natural and human systems to climate change, and the potential impacts and adaptation options at regional and global scales.

This technical document has been produced by Working Group I (WGI) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is the first part of Climate Change 2001, the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the IPCC. It focuses on the science of climate change. It consists of 14 chapters covering the physical climate system, the factors that drive climate change, analyses of past climate and projections of future climate change, and detection and attribution of human influences on recent climate.

This technical document provides an integrated view of climate change as the final part of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). Topic 1 summarises observed changes in climate and their effects on natural and human systems, regardless of their causes, while Topic 2 assesses the causes of the observed changes. Topic 3 presents projections of future climate change and related impacts under different scenarios. Topic 4 discusses adaptation and mitigation options over the next few decades and their interactions with sustainable development. Topic 5 assesses the relationship between adaptation and mitigation on a more conceptual basis and takes a longer-term perspective. Topic 6 summarises the major robust findings and remaining key uncertainties in this assessment.

This technical document includes the contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It presents an analysis of costs, policies and technologies that could be used to limit and/or prevent emissions of greenhouse gases, along with a range of activities to remove these gases from the atmosphere. It recognizes that a portfolio of adaptation and mitigation actions is required to reduce the risks of climate change. It also has broadened the assessment to include the relationship between sustainable development and climate change mitigation.

This technical document includes the contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date scientific assessment of the impacts of climate change, the vulnerability of natural and human environments, and the potential for response through adaptation. It builds upon past IPCC assessments and incorporates new knowledge gained since the Third Assessment.

This technical document includes Working Group I contribution to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). It describes progress in understanding of the human and natural drivers of climate change, observed climate change, climate processes and attribution, and estimates of projected future climate change. It builds upon past IPCC assessments and incorporates new findings from six years of research. Scientific progress since the Third Assessment Report (TAR) is based upon large amounts of new and more comprehensive data, more sophisticated analyses of data, improvements in understanding of processes and their simulation in models and more extensive exploration of uncertainty ranges.

This policy document is targeted at National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) around the world that need to deal with practical questions on extremes and provide information services for climate change adaptation strategies. It responds to the need of WMO Members to enhance climate monitoring capabilities for the generation of higher quality and new types of products and services. However, it is important to note that this document does not cover every type of extreme. It focuses on weather and climate extremes that are defined as rare events within the statistical reference distribution of particular weather elements at a particular place. The extremes considered are for weather elements that are monitored daily, such as temperature and precipitation.

This technical document provides guidelines with the aim to provide managers and operators of climate monitoring networks with a set of recommended procedures/practices by which change can be managed in the observational programs in a manner that best maintains the required integrity of the climate record.

This technical document discusses in detail various considerations in the calculation of climatological normals. It also includes a comprehensive evaluation of the predictive capabilities of normals of various lengths and frequencies of updating, an assessment of possible statistical descriptors of climate over and above traditional climatological normals, and a discussion of uncertainties arising from data inhomogeneities and gaps.

This technical document includes guidelines aimed at providing National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (NMHS) with information on best practice climate data management with some emphasis on building knowledge and capacity in: the phases and stages of managing computerized data; available database technologies and selecting an appropriate database; making the transition to a modern climate database system; and sustaining data management operations.

This technical document describes the current status of Climate Watches, the concept of Climate Watch, and guidelines for establishing, operating and evaluating Climate Watches. The main goal of a Climate Watch is to provide information about significant anomalies for the forthcoming season(s) that may have substantial impacts on a regional scale. Some examples of Climate Watches are included in this report. The guidelines are intended to provide guidance in the form of good practices that can be used by Members.

This manual is designed to provide guidance and assistance to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Members in developing national activities linked to climate information and services. This third edition of the manual describes basic principles and modern practices important in the development and implementation of all climate services, and outlines methods of best practice in climatology. It is intended to describe concepts and considerations, and provides references to other technical guidance and information sources, rather than attempting to be all-inclusive in the guidance presented.

The activity report aims to: show how relatively small interventions can make a significant difference in human lives if there is a clear objective, strong commitment and genuine partnership; inspire replication of success stories in different contexts and/or at a larger scale; and document best practices, drawing on the findings of external evaluations. All success stories follow the same structure, namely the challenge faced, the actions taken, the results achieved, and the future plans, to demonstrate the continuity of the development process and its long-term benefits. Success stories include technical cooperation concerning: technology for bringing unused forest materials into efficient economic use as biomas; energy efficiency investment projects for climate change mitigation; and biodiversity conservation in projects supporting transboundary cooperation.

This analytical report notes that climate change is threatening the economic and human development gains that contribute to Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) and that building resilience is crucial to safeguard the livelihoods of about a quarter of the Bhutanese population who depend on subsistence farming and natural resources. Bhutan has committed to environmental conservation and to remain a carbon neutral country. The report underlines that due to an export ban on unprocessed forest timber and the constitutional protection of 60% of the country’s forest cover, Bhutan has maintained its status as a net sink for greenhouse gases (GHGs). Nevertheless, it warns that melting of the country’s glaciers can lead to water shortages in the future and jeopardize the hydropower sector, which the economy is dependent on.

This manual is designed to assist the development of sustainable transport services and facilities at the local level. It provides transport options that not only minimise greenhouse gas emissions, but also offer a host of other economic, social and environmental benefits. These can enable the transport systems of developing countries to play their part in the attainment of national goals: to develop economies, to create jobs, to reduce poverty and inequality, to produce more food, to improve health and education, and in general to ensure that citizens can live healthy and satisfying lives.

This manual aims to provide expert information on the technologies most relevant for climate change adaptation in the water sector in developing countries. It is meant to be a practical tool for use by a broad range of stakeholders, including those in governmental agencies, water utilities, community water boards, non-governmental organizations, and private sector companies. The guidebook first reviews the projected impacts of climate change on the water sector. It then addresses the role of adaptation in the water sector and six typologies under which available strategies are categorized. Eleven technologies and practices are given detailed treatment in this guidebook and four others are
covered briefly.

This manual provides a systematic analysis of the most relevant information available on climate change adaptation technologies in the agriculture sector. A set of 22 adaptation technologies are showcased. These are based primarily on the principles of agroecology, but also include scientific technologies of climate and biological sciences complemented by important sociological and institutional capacity building processes that are required for climate change to function. It includes recommendations for practitioners and policy makers.

This manual is designed to help readers navigate the pitfalls of preparing a Project Design Document (PDD) and a Monitoring Report (MR) for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. This third edition also aims at helping project developers navigate the pitfalls of preparing documentation required for CDM Programme of Activities (PoAs). The PDD is an important part of the registration of a CDM project, and the basis for its recognition as a credible CDM project. In particular, it explains how the project intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below those levels that would otherwise have been emitted.

This technical document highlights the need to bridge the divide between climate change and poverty reduction through innovative energy technologies and to bring about transformational impacts to address these dual challenges. The aim is not to provide a comprehensive listing of all available/existing energy technologies and options that can address poverty reduction and climate change concerns; rather the study focuses on select examples and applications with the potential for broad applicability in varied settings. The document argues that providing financing for innovative ideas, low-cost, low-emission, and pro-poor technologies are effective measures to harness their potential.