"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is set to publish the ?synthesis report” of its fifth assessment period, drawing on three individual working group reports already published on: the physical science of climate change; climate impacts and adaptation; and mitigation, or how to reduce emissions or enhance the natural uptake of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The latest report is the first collective assessment of climate change by governments since the 2007 report, published just as the world fell off a financial and economic cliff. It is therefore a vital input to the current round of UN climate negotiations culminating in Paris next year..."