Chapter 7 Australian Participation in the IPCCC
Organisational Arrangements
The organisational arrangements for coordination
of Australian involvement in the
work of the IPCC have evolved over the fifteen
years of its operation. In response to
the initial request from the Secretary
General of WMO and the Executive
Director of UNEP that national representatives
be at a senior level and possess public
policy as well as scientific and environmental
expertise, consultations between the
Bureau of Meteorology, the then
Department of the Arts, Sport, the
Environment, Tourism and Territories
(DASETT; now Department of the
Environment and Heritage, DoEH) and the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
led to the nomination, with the approval of
the Prime Minister, of Dr W J McG Tegart
AM FTSE, then Secretary of the Australian
Science and Technology Council (ASTEC),
as Principal Australian Delegate to the
IPCC. In the initial period of operation
through 1988 and early 1989, national coordination
was carried out through an
"Australian Coordinating Committee for
the IPCC" chaired by Dr Tegart with representatives
from key Commonwealth
Departments and agencies and with secretariat
support from the Bureau of
Meteorology. A supporting IPCC science
communication network was established
by the IPCC Bureau to involve relevant
national scientific committees and
Australian representatives on other international
climate-related bodies in the assessment
process.
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