Consider the following statements about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): 1. It is an international body for assessing the science related to climate change. 2. It was set up in the year 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. Statement 1 is the IPCC's own description of itself — an international body for assessing the science related to climate change — and it is correct. Statement 2 is also correct: the IPCC was established in 1988, and the World Meteorological Organization is one of the two parent bodies that set it up, the other being the United Nations Environment Programme. The statement names the WMO without saying 'only', so it asserts nothing false; the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the action later the same year.

• (a)1 only — Would require statement 2 to be wrong. The year 1988 is right and the World Meteorological Organization did establish the panel, jointly with UNEP — so the statement is incomplete rather than incorrect.
• (b)2 only — Rejects the description of the IPCC's purpose, which is accurate almost word for word. The IPCC does not conduct its own research; it assesses the published scientific literature, which is exactly what 'assessing the science related to climate change' means.
• (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements are true, so this cannot stand. Nothing in either sentence misstates the panel's function or its founding.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to give policymakers regular scientific assessments of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and the options for adaptation and mitigation. It does no original research and runs no monitoring network; it assesses published literature through volunteer author teams, and its reports are approved line by line by member governments. Its Sixth Assessment Report cycle concluded with the Synthesis Report in 2023. The IPCC shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with Al Gore.

One caution is worth carrying: statement 2 gives only one of the two founding bodies. A candidate who knows UNEP was the co-founder may be tempted to call the statement incomplete and therefore wrong. In examination practice a statement that names a true fact without an exclusive word such as 'only' or 'solely' is treated as correct, and this one does name a genuine founder and the right year. Where a paper wants the omission to matter, it usually inserts that exclusive word. This card marks a different letter from the answer we hold on file for this question.

• The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.
• It assesses published scientific literature; it does not carry out its own research or monitoring.
• Its reports are approved by member governments, which is what makes it intergovernmental.
• It shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
• The Sixth Assessment Report cycle closed with the Synthesis Report in 2023.

• Rejecting statement 2 because it does not also name UNEP; without an exclusive word the statement is not false.
• Believing the IPCC conducts its own climate research; it assesses the work of others.
• Confusing the IPCC, a scientific assessment body, with the UNFCCC, the treaty under which countries negotiate.

A two-statement item whose difficulty is not factual but interpretive — how to treat a statement that is true but incomplete.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The IPCC was established jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and

  • (a)the United Nations Environment Programme
  • (b)the World Bank
  • (c)the Food and Agriculture Organization
  • (d)the World Health Organization

  Answer(a) the United Nations Environment Programme — the two bodies set up the panel in 1988.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following best describes the work of the IPCC?

  • (a)It conducts its own climate research and field measurements
  • (b)It assesses published scientific literature on climate change for policymakers
  • (c)It negotiates binding emission targets between countries
  • (d)It funds renewable energy projects in developing countries

  Answer(b) It assesses published scientific literature on climate change for policymakers — negotiation happens under the UNFCCC, not the IPCC.