What Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change does

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, jointly established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly the same year. The organization has 195 member countries and produces comprehensive scientific assessment reports on a multi-year cycle; its current Seventh Assessment Cycle (AR7) formally began in July 2023 and is scheduled to conclude with a Synthesis Report in 2029. IPCC does not conduct its own original research; it assesses existing peer-reviewed literature through a multi-stage review process involving expert authors, multiple drafts, expert and government review, and line-by-line approval by member governments in plenary. The Secretariat, hosted by WMO in Geneva, coordinates the work of three Working Groups covering the Physical Science Basis (WG I), Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (WG II), and Mitigation of Climate Change (WG III), together with the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI).

Core outputs include periodic Assessment Reports, Special Reports on specific topics (e.g., Global Warming of 1.5°C in 2018, Climate Change and Cities due March 2027), and Methodology Reports providing guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. These products are complemented by the IPCC Library, Dashboard, and Data Distribution Centre, which provide free public access to reports, documentation, and climate scenario data including CMIP5 and CMIP6. Products are licensed and distributed globally as public goods with no charge to users.

The organization is funded by assessed contributions from its 195 member governments and operates under a non-commercial, consensus-based governance model with no traditional revenue streams. IPCC does not sell its work; instead, its value is captured through the integration of its scientific findings into international climate negotiations under the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, and the Global Stocktake process. The AR6 Synthesis Report provided direct scientific input to the first Global Stocktake at COP28 in Dubai, exemplifying the organization's role as the de facto scientific anchor for global climate policy.

Name

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Legal name

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Website

https://ipcc.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing climate science, jointly established by UNEP and WMO in 1988 and serving 195 member governments. It produces periodic assessment reports, special reports, and methodology guidelines as public goods that inform international climate negotiations under the UNFCCC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Science Assessment

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (BPADAAAB)

Keywords

• Climate change assessment
• Scientific policy reports
• Greenhouse gas inventories
• Climate science evaluation
• Intergovernmental policy advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: IPCC is funded by contributions from its 195 member governments. The Trump administration's withdrawal of US participation in early 2026 created a notable budget shortfall, raising questions about future funding and capacity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It produces comprehensive Assessment Reports, Special Reports, and Methodology Reports through a multi-stage review process involving thousands of volunteer expert authors, providing policymakers with regular scientific assessments of climate change, its implications, potential future risks, and adaptation and mitigation options. The IPCC does not conduct its own research; it synthesizes and evaluates existing scientific literature.

Product overview

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a United Nations body that produces comprehensive climate assessment reports rather than a traditional software product. The organization publishes periodic Assessment Reports (currently in its Seventh Assessment cycle), Special Reports on specific topics, and Methodology Reports providing guidelines for greenhouse gas inventories. The core products consist of Working Group contributions covering Physical Science Basis (WG I), Impacts/Adaptation/Vulnerability (WG II), and Mitigation of Climate Change (WG III), supported by the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI). These are complemented by the IPCC Dashboard, Library, and Data Distribution Centre for accessing reports, documentation, and climate data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) Comprehensive scientific assessment report cycle currently underway, consisting of three Working Group contributions covering Physical Science Basis, Impacts/Adaptation/Vulnerability, and Mitigation of Climate Change, plus a Synthesis Report.
• Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Completed comprehensive assessment published 2021-2023, consisting of three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. Provided scientific input to the first Global Stocktake at COP28.
• Special Reports Topic-specific reports produced on subjects agreed by member governments, addressing focused climate topics such as 1.5°C warming, land use, oceans and cryosphere, and cities.
• Methodology Reports Guidelines for preparation of national greenhouse gas inventories, including the 2006 IPCC Guidelines with 2019 Refinement and forthcoming methodology reports on Short-lived Climate Forcers and Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies.
• IPCC Data Distribution Centre Provides access to climate data, scenarios, and model outputs used in IPCC assessments, including CMIP5 and CMIP6 data, for use by researchers and policymakers.

Quantifiable outcome

• IPCC introduced the concept of 'net zero' to the wider world in 2018; today the majority of global GHG emissions are covered by mid-century net zero emission targets
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026FAO and IPCC co-sponsored an Expert Meeting on Agriculture and Food held June 2-5, 2026 in Rome, to discuss the latest science on climate change impacts on agriculture and food systems.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988WMO jointly established IPCC with UNEP in 1988 and continues to host the IPCC Secretariat in Geneva. WMO is one of IPCC's parent organizations.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988UNEP jointly established IPCC with WMO in 1988. UNEP is one of IPCC's parent organizations that provides institutional support.
• IPBESminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPBES has invited IPCC to co-sponsor a workshop on biodiversity and climate change. IPCC continues to explore other opportunities for joint work with IPBES.
• World Climate Research ProgrammeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPCC Vice-Chairs are strengthening ties with the World Climate Research Programme as part of external engagement efforts.
• International Resources PanelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPCC engages with the International Resources Panel on topics such as critical strategic minerals, where cooperation between climate and resource management assessments is valuable.
• 195 Member GovernmentscoreOthersIPCC member governments participate in plenary sessions, approve reports, provide guidance through the IPCC Bureau, and nominate experts to serve as authors. The Panel comprises representatives from 195 countries.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services): IPBES is the closest structural analog to IPCC, an intergovernmental assessment body producing science-policy reports (on biodiversity rather than climate) using a similar volunteer-author, government-approved methodology. They are already coordinating on joint biodiversity-climate workshops.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO): WMO is one of IPCC's parent organizations, hosts its Secretariat in Geneva, and provides the atmospheric observation backbone that underpins IPCC Working Group I physical science conclusions, making it the most institutionally entangled peer.

Others

• UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change): UNFCCC is the parent treaty body that IPCC's assessments directly feed. While UNFCCC negotiates legally binding commitments among 197 parties, IPCC provides the scientific input, making them functionally inseparable partners rather than competitors.

Broad incumbents

• International Energy Agency (IEA): The IEA produces authoritative global energy data, scenario analyses (Net Zero by 2050), and policy recommendations, serving overlapping government and policy audiences and contributing data that IPCC draws upon in Working Group III mitigation assessments.
• International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA): IRENA provides data, analysis, and policy advice on renewable energy deployment to governments, overlapping with IPCC's Working Group III scope. Although IRENA is action-oriented rather than purely scientific, it serves many of the same national policymaker customers.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): UNEP is the second co-founding parent of IPCC and produces its own Emissions Gap Report that explicitly cites and compares IPCC scenarios. They serve complementary assessment roles within the same global environmental governance stack.

Emerging players

• Climate Action Tracker (CAT): CAT independently evaluates national climate policies and pledges against IPCC-derived Paris Agreement benchmarks. It depends on IPCC scenarios as ground truth, illustrating how IPCC's framework gets extended by more action-focused assessors.
• Global Carbon Project: Global Carbon Project is a research consortium producing annual global carbon budget estimates that IPCC draws upon for emissions baselines. It represents the type of scientific synthesis community that feeds into IPCC assessments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/IPCCGeneva
• Xx.com/ipcc_ch
• Facebookfacebook.com/IPCCNews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ipcc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change