Batumi hosts the 37th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change session

The thirty-seventh session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-37) was opened in Batumi, on October 14th.

Among other items, the panel will consider for adoption two methodology reports: “2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands”; and “2013 Revised Supplementary Methods and Good Practice Guidance Arising from the Kyoto Protocol.”

Batumi session was opened by the Chairman of the IPCC, Rajendra Kumar Pachauri. The guests were welcomed by the Georgian Parliament Chairman, Davit Usupashvili and Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, Khatuna Gogaladze.

After delivering his welcome speech, Usupashvili spoke with the media and emphasized the importance of the session. He said the organization does a very important job monitoring climate change and participants are looking forward to adopt the fifth IPCC report on the Global Warming.

“This is the first time the session was held in a post-Soviet country and it is planned to finalize the fifth report at this session… Despite the fact that Georgians have many other problems, we have to contribute to global projects as well,” Usupashvili stated in Batumi.

According to the Environment Minister, Georgia is trying to participate in solving a global problem of climate change and it is very important that the country hosts the session of the Intergovernmental Panel.

“Hosting similar events Georgia is taking a great chance to highly contribute to climate change,” Gogaladze said. The minister also explained that Georgia is working in two directions: creating necessary measurements for adaptation to climate change and low emission development strategies.

The Batumi session will close on October 18th. Also a press conference will be held for media to present the two Methodology Reports adopted at the session.

The leading scientific body for the assessment of climate change, IPCC 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 climate change 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 IPCC.

IPCC is an intergovernmental body and reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. However, it does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.