History

Context
The Brazilian Panel on Climate Change (PBMC, in Portuguese) was established in the same molds of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, an acronym in English) and aims to provide scientific assessments on climate changes relevant to Brazil, including the impacts, vulnerability and adaptation and mitigation actions.

The scientific information will be systematized through an objective, opened and transparent process organization of the information produced by the scientific community on environmental aspects, social and economic climate changes.

Thus, the Panel will subsidize the formulating process of public policies and decision to face the challenges presented by these changes, also serving as a source of reference information for society.

The PBMC is inserted on activities to implement the National Plan on Climate Change, especially in its axis of Research and Development, but will also support other activities related to the axes Mitigation, Adaptation and Dissemination of Knowledge.

National Assessment Reports will provide important elements for policies implementation in Brazil, as the National Plan on Climate Change. Technical reports may also subsidize the Country to develop nationally appropriate methodologies for monitoring GHG emissions and developing a proper monitoring system, assisting the verification of emission reduction to achieve the goals of the sectorial mitigation plans, and the National Policy on Climate Change to establish the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA, acronym in English).

As in IPCC, the Brazilian Panel also will produce Special Reports, especially when requested by Environmental Conferences or Conventions, such as subsidize Brazil during the discussions in the ambit of the SUBSTA (Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Development) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as on environmental and climate change issues.

The PBMC will support the Brazilian government with the provision of an integrated analysis of information on climate change, which will represent the signaling of areas and priorities for Brazil, as the identification of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) starting from knowledge about best practices and technologies for reducing GHG emissions in Brazil.

History

The Brazilian Panel on Climate Change is a national scientific body created by the Ministries of Science and Technology and the Environment, and established by the Interministerial Ordinance MCT / MMA No. 356 of September 25, 2009.

On October 15th 2009, an Interministerial Ordinance MCT / MMA No. 369 was published, which named as presidents of the Steering Committee and of Scientific Committee the following members: Dr. Carlos Afonso Nobre, of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and Dr. Suzana Kahn Ribeiro, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE / UFRJ), respectively.

Among the institutions that supported the PBMC are the British Government through Department for International Development (DFID), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), National Fund on Climate Change (Climate Fund) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). Currently, the PBMC has the support of the Ministry of Environment (MMA).

The official launch of the Panel took place on November 24th 2009, attended by the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Sergio Rezende, and the  Minister os the Environment on that year, Mr. Carlos Minc. On that same day, there was the inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee of the Panel, which gathered, the presidents of the Board and of the Scientific Committee, representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) and the Ministry of Environment (MMA), Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), Brazilian Network of Global Climate Change Research ( Rede CLIMA), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), the National Council of Scientific (CNPq) and the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change (FBMC). In April 2010 the PBMC began the composition process of the Working Groups and Task Force from the Public Call for Authors for the preparation of the First National Assessment Report (RAN1, in Portuguese) of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change.

The First National Assessment Report was due to be released in 2012, however due to a delay in the drafting and revision of the three volumes, these could only be released at the end of 2013. The report is composed of three volumes corresponding to the three Groups Work that makes up Panel. It also has three Executive Summaries for each volume.

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