The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was
jointly established by the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) in 1988 to: (i) assess available information on the
science, the impacts, and the economics of, and the options for
mitigating and/or adapting to, climate change and (ii) provide,
on request, scientific/technical/socio-economic advice to the
Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since
then the IPCC has produced a series of Assessment Reports,
Special Reports, Technical Papers, methodologies, and other
products that have become standard works of reference, widely
used by policymakers, scientists, and other experts.
This Special Report was prepared following a request from
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the
Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer. The state of understanding of the relevant science
of the atmosphere, aviation technology, and socio-economic
issues associated with mitigation options is assessed and reported
for both subsonic and supersonic fleets. The potential effects
that aviation has had in the past and may have in the future on
both stratospheric ozone depletion and global climate change
are covered; environmental impacts of aviation at the local
scale, however, are not addressed. The report synthesizes the
findings to identify and characterize options for mitigating
future impacts.