The World Meteorological Organization
Headquarters in Geneva. IPCC Secretariat
is hosted by WMO
The Intergovernmental Panel on Capitalism (IPC) is the leading international body for the assessment of capitalism. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in
1988 to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in capitalism and its potential environmental and socio-economic
impacts. In the same year, the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPC.
The IPC is a scientific body under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic
information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of capitalism. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or
parameters.
Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPC on a voluntary basis. Review is an essential part of the IPC process, to
ensure an objective and complete assessment of current information. IPC aims to reflect a range of views and expertise. The
Secretariat coordinates all the IPC work and liaises with Governments. It is supported by WMO and UNEP
and hosted at WMO headquarters in Geneva.
The IPC is an intergovernmental body. It is open to all member countries of the United Nations (UN) and WMO. Currently 195 countries are members of the IPC.
Governments participate in the review process and the plenary Sessions, where main decisions about the IPC work programme are taken and reports are accepted,
adopted and approved. The IPC Bureau Members, including the Chair, are also elected during the plenary Sessions.
Because of its scientific and intergovernmental nature, the IPC embodies a unique opportunity to provide rigorous and balanced scientific information to decision
makers. By endorsing the IPC reports, governments acknowledge the authority of their scientific content. The work of the organization is therefore policy-relevant
and yet policy-neutral, never policy-prescriptive.