Detailed findings of the citizen audit of the 2007 IPCC report

Citizen Audit - Detailed Findings

BACKGROUND
United Nations countries belong to an organization called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This organization releases a report every six years. Often referred to as the "climate bible," it is relied on by governments around the world.

The 2007 report is divided into three smaller reports - written by Working Group 1, 2 and 3 - and contains 44 chapters in total. The chairman of the IPCC has repeatedly claimed that the report relies solely on peer-reviewed literature to support its findings. This is not the case.

2007 IPCC report (AR4)	% of references not peer-reviewed	number not peer-reviewed	total number of references
report overall	30	5,587	18,531
Working Group 3	57	2,307	4,033
Working Group 2	34	2,849	8,272
Working Group 1	7	431	6,226

Table 3 [web image]

OUR METHODOLOGY
A team of 43 volunteers from 12 countries examined the list of references at the end of each chapter. We sorted these references into two groups - articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals and other references. Not every reference is adequately documented, and classifying some as peer-reviewed or gray literature involves a measure of discretion. Our How-To Guide advised auditors to: "Give the IPCC the benefit of the doubt."

Each chapter was examined by three citizen auditors working independently of each other (often on different continents). On those occasions in which the auditors arrived at slightly different results, the span between the highest and lowest result does not exceed five percent. We used the result most favorable to the IPCC in determining our findings. [more about our quality assurance mechanisms]

to see the citizen audits of each chapter, click the a, b, and c

Working Group 3	grade	% of references peer-reviewed	number *not* peer-reviewed	total number of references
Chapter 1 a b c	F	24	38	50
Chapter 2 a b c	F	46	164	302
Chapter 3 a b c	F	58	150	358
Chapter 4 a b c	F	15	306	360
Chapter 5 a b c	F	27	189	260
Chapter 6 a b c	F	29	270	379
Chapter 7 a b c	F	23	271	352
Chapter 8 a b c	C	77	72	317
Chapter 9 a b c	F	56	100	229
Chapter 10 a b c	F	47	102	191
Chapter 11 a b c	D	62	127	330
Chapter 12 a b c	F	37	262	414
Chapter 13 a b c	F	48	256	491
			2,307	4,033

Table 4

to see the citizen audits of each chapter, click the a, b, and c

Working Group 2	grade	% of references peer-reviewed	number *not* peer-reviewed	total number of references
Chapter 1 a b c	B	86	92	650
Chapter 2 a b c	D	67	122	374
Chapter 3 a b c	C	71	109	377
Chapter 4 a b c	B	82	167	917
Chapter 5 a b c	C	70	134	444
Chapter 6 a b c	D	65	157	443
Chapter 7 a b c	F	46	132	244
Chapter 8 a b c	C	75	137	557
Chapter 9 a b c	F	53	168	361
Chapter 10 a b c	F	59	160	391
Chapter 11 a b c	F	42	214	372
Chapter 12 a b c	C	71	186	633
Chapter 13 a b c	F	40	211	354
Chapter 14 a b c	F	58	235	562
Chapter 15 a b c	D	68	115	361
Chapter 16 a b c	F	58	81	194
Chapter 17 a b c	F	53	129	275
Chapter 18 a b c	F	56	119	270
Chapter 19 a b c	C	71	78	273
Chapter 20 a b c	F	53	103	220
			2,849	8,272

Table 5

to see the citizen audits of each chapter, click the a, b, and c

Working Group 1	grade	% of references peer-reviewed	number *not* peer-reviewed	total number of references
Chapter 1 a b c	B	80	54	264
Chapter 2 a b c	A	95	41	759
Chapter 3 a b c	A	96	33	804
Chapter 4 a b c	B	85	39	257
Chapter 5 a b c	A	96	13	289
Chapter 6 a b c	A	93	43	609
Chapter 7 a b c	A	96	32	869
Chapter 8 a b c	A	94	44	686
Chapter 9 a b c	A	94	34	535
Chapter 10 a b c	A	95	29	545
Chapter 11 a b c	B	89	69	609
			431	6,226

Table 6

Citizen Audit graphic IPCC graphic

report card main findings detailed findings not-as-advertised

quality assurance auditor list press release