Depending on one's point of view, climate change is a serious global threat, a multi-billion dollar research industry, the subject of endless negotiations and lobbying, a potential source of North-South conflict, or a new basis for North-South co-operation. The last two are especially relevant to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as it begins to focus on development, sustainability, and equity. The IPCC is an international scientific body charged with assessing the scientific literature on the existence, impact, and potential policy responses to climate change. Although initially the IPCC focused on climate alone, it has increasingly come to incorporate economic, social, and political factors into the scope of its work, both for enriching its analysis and guiding policy makers. In particular, there is considerable recognition that in order for policy options to be both feasible and defensible, they must be germane to North-South co-operation. This will depend largely on how issues of sustainable development and equity are treated.
