13 July 2009: In an speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the Scoping Meeting for the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is taking place in Venice, Italy, from 13-17 July 2009, IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri said one could believe that “the finest hour of the IPCC came and went in 2007 and 2008, particularly with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007” and the release of the Fourth Assessment Report, but he said “the finest hour is yet to come.”

He said the AR5 will face very high expectations by those who are looking for more information and evidence of the link between human actions and climate, as well as by those who currently take action and would seek validation of their decisions. Pachauri expressed the hope that the AR5 will provide: greater regional detail than available literature has allowed in the past; and an increased focus on subjects for which there is an increasing perception that reality has turned out to be far more serious than the projections of the AR4. He highlighted the role of the AR4 Synthesis Report, and recommended retaining the brevity of the AR4 Synthesis Report for the AR5. He stressed the importance of the scoping meeting, noting the large participation and that it is the only one being held for the AR5. [The speech]