[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59238-59239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23694]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 8042]


Call for Expert Reviewers to the U.S. Government Review of the 
Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change 2013: 
The Physical Science Basis

     Summary: The United States Global Change Research Program, in 
cooperation with the Department of State, request expert review of the 
Second Order Draft of the Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth 
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
(IPCC) Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.
    The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World 
Meteorological Organization (WMO) established the IPCC in 1988. In 
accordance with its mandate and as reaffirmed in various decisions by 
the Panel, the major activity of the IPCC is to prepare comprehensive 
and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical, 
and socio-economic information for understanding the scientific basis 
of climate change, potential impacts, and options for mitigation and 
adaptation. The IPCC develops a comprehensive assessment spanning all 
the above topics approximately every six years. The First Assessment 
Report was completed in 1990, the Second Assessment Report in 1995, the 
Third Assessment Report in 2001, and the Fourth Assessment in 2007.
    Three working group volumes and a synthesis report comprise the 
Fifth Assessment Report. Working Group I assesses the scientific 
aspects of the climate system and climate change; Working Group II 
assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to 
climate change, potential negative and positive consequences, and 
options for adapting to it; and Working Group III assesses options for 
limiting greenhouse gas emissions and otherwise mitigating climate 
change. Procedures for the IPCC and its preparation of reports can be 
found at the following Web sites: http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization_review.shtml#.UEY0LqSe7x8 http://ipcc.ch/organization/organization_procedures.shtml.
    In October 2009, the IPCC approved the outline for the Working 
Group I contribution to the 5th Assessment Report (Working Group I 
Table of Contents: https://www.ipcc.unibe.ch/AR5/chapteroutline.html). 
Authors were

[[Page 59239]]

nominated in May of 2010 and selected in June of 2010. All IPCC reports 
go through two broad reviews: a ``first-order draft''' reviewed by 
experts, and a ``second-order draft'' reviewed by both experts and 
governments. The Second Order Draft of the Working Group I contribution 
to the 5th Assessment Report will be available for review beginning on 
5 October 2012.
    As part of the U.S. Government Review of the Second Order Draft of 
the Working Group I Contribution to the 5th Assessment Report, the U.S. 
Government is soliciting comments from experts in relevant fields of 
expertise (Again, the Table of Contents for the Working Group 
contribution can be viewed here: https://www.ipcc.unibe.ch/AR5/chapteroutline.html)
    Beginning on 7 September, experts may register to review the draft 
report at: http://ar5wgi.globalchange.gov/. The draft report will be 
made available on 5 October 2012 to those who registered. To be 
considered for inclusion in the U.S. Government submission, comments 
must be received by 2 November 2012.
    The United States Global Change Research Program will coordinate 
collection and compilation of U.S. expert comments and the review of 
the report by a Review Committee of Federal scientists and program 
managers in order to develop a consolidated U.S. Government submission, 
which will be provided to the IPCC by November 30, 2012. Expert 
comments received within the comment period will be considered for 
inclusion in the U.S. Government submission. Instructions for review 
and submission of comments are available at: http://ar5wgi.globalchange.gov/.
    Experts may choose to provide comments directly through the IPCC's 
expert review process, which occurs in parallel with the U.S. 
government review. More information on the IPCC's comment process can 
be found at http: //www.ipcc.ch/activities/activities.shtml and http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/ar5/review_of_wg_contributions.pdf. To avoid 
duplication, comments submitted for consideration as part of the U.S. 
Government Review should not also be sent to the IPCC Secretariat 
through the Expert Review process. Comments to the U.S. government 
review should be submitted using the Web-based system at: http://ar5wgi.globalchange.gov/.
    This certification will be published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: September 20, 2012.
Trigg Talley,
Director, Office of Global Change, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2012-23694 Filed 9-25-12; 8:45 am]
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