Chapter 7 Australian Participation in the IPCCC

Australian Input to IPCCC Assessments > Second Assessment Report 1995

The IPCC Second Assessment Report (SAR) was finalised in December 1995 and Australian experts participated in all steps of the drafting, review and approval process. The responsible agencies sought the views of key government and non-government representatives on the accuracy and completeness of each Working Group component of the report, in terms of its scientific/ technical content and overall balance, in order to formulate the Australian country response to the draft SAR.

Working Group I

Twenty-seven Australian scientists were listed as contributing substantially to the drafting of the WGI contribution to the SAR, including convening lead authors or lead authors as follows:

• Radiative forcing of climate change: I Enting, P Fraser;
• Observed climate variability and change: N Nicholls (convening lead author);
• Climate models - validation: A Henderson-Sellers, B McAvaney; and

Terrestrial ecosystems: G Farquhar.

Working Group II

Australian scientists also had a substantial role as lead authors and contributors in the preparation of the 27 chapters that WGII contributed to the SAR. Australian lead authors contributed on several key issues as follows:

• Impacts on sea ice: I Allison;
• Sea level rise: R McLean;
• Hydrology: B Bates;
• Wetlands and agriculture: J R Freney;
• Plant-soil interactions: M Kirschbaum;
• Marine living resources: H Marchant;
• Health impacts: T McMichael; and
• Modelling of biotic responses: I Noble.

Working Group III

The principal Australian involvement in WGIII was through the Executive Director of ABARE, B Fisher, who was the convening lead author for the chapter on "An assessment of economic policy instruments to combat the enhanced greenhouse effect".