Since 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC) has been regularly publishing thick reports, ranging in size from two thousand to three thousand pages, presenting the state of knowledge on climate change, its causes and impacts, and ways of limiting its extent and adapting to the world of tomorrow. These analyses are the fruit of the collective expertise of several thousand scientists, which in itself is a remarkable and probably unprecedented collaborative effort. Given the density of the reports, we are most familiar with the simplified version which takes the form of a " Abstract for decision-makers ". Even if they are not prescriptions, this " abstract " has an impact on political decisions, and therefore on all our lives. Dates, deadlines, scenarios : our future takes shape here. In an age thought to be doomed to " presentism ", i.e. contemplation of the present, oblivious to the past and unconcerned about the future, a new form of planning is taking hold, and on a scale never seen before. This may remind us of certain utopias of the past, such as Plato's Republic. And as in Plato, the question arises of the relationship between science and the political dimension.
So what do comprehensive reports have to say, especially when states are not directly involved in their drafting ? In the abundance of data and information at our disposal, what should we retain and what should we understand ? What is the scientific and institutional methodology behind the collective work process ?
To answer these questions, the Collège de France, under the supervision of Pr Dario Mantovani, is organizing a cycle of educational readings of the IPCC's 2021-2022 report. The aim, in addition to uncovering the scientific basis of these documents, is to understand the idea of society that the IPCC advocates, and the societal and legal values that are taken - often implicitly - as models.
The cycle will consist of five sessions, each lasting two hours, with a clear, pedagogical focus on the methods, models and values underlying the IPCC's work.