Full IPCC SREX Report released

On 28 March 2012, the IPCC released the full special report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Weather Events

In recent years, extreme weather and climate events have taken many lives and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. Is climate change leading to increases in the number and severity of extreme events? How do social and environmental factors interact with weather and climate events to create disasters? And what can be done to make societies more resilient to extremes? A Special Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) – assesses the scientific information on these questions.

The print edition of the report was published mid-May. The report’s 19-page Summary for Policymakers was released in November 2011. The full 592-page report provides the detailed evidence underlying the findings highlighted in the Summary for Policymakers, complete with graphics, full reference details, report glossary and index. In addition the chapters provide comprehensive detail on the concepts and determinants of disaster risk, an assessment of past and future changes in climate extremes and their impacts at global and regional scales, and a discussion of local to international level approaches for managing weather-related risks. Case studies are used to provide valuable insights into best practices and experiences. For more information: http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/ and for regional lessons learned from the SREX report provided by CDKN, click here.

Related publications and websites:

• IPCC website, with the Summary for Policy Makers and other background materials 
• Regional IPCC SREX outreach events series are published on the IPCC SREX website and on www.cdkn.org/srex.
• Regional lessons learned from the SREX report are available at www.cdkn.org/srex. Or click directly to the regional reports with lessons learned for Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (also in Spanish).
• IFRC press release, opinion piece, case study
• SREX in 2 pages: 10 Key Messages of the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events
• SREX in 4 pages: Headlines from the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events
• AlertNet: Few nations doing enough to protect people from extreme weather - Quotes from IPCC authors

On Thursday 24 November the ODI organized a Public Event, which was screened live online. The video of the event is now available on their website.  It is both able to be streamed and available for download in bite size chunks here.

The IPCC is the UN's scientific panel that assesses the knowledge base on climate change. Their assessments are performed by hundreds of the best scientists. Their conclusions are strengthened and refined based on three thorough review rounds by experts and governments. The final assessment results are summarized in a Summary for Policy Makers that is adopted line-by-line in a governmental approval session, where the author team guards the integrity of the scientific findings, but governments ensure that the summary truly reflects an international consensus on what the best science tells us.