The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. It has members from 130 countries. The IPCC’s role is to assess objectively the scientific evidence for climate change, mainly from peer-reviewed literature. From this evidence, the IPCC produces regular reports on the potential impact of climate change and the options for adaptation. It does not carry out its own research. The IPCC’s latest report, “Climate change 2007: climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability”, is the work of over 2,500 reviewers and 800 authors. A summary is available online and the full report will be published in mid-2007.