How the IPCC was formed

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In 1985, 89 leading scientists from around the world met in Villach, Austria, in what is seen as a turning point in the history of climate change. Their call for urgent action led to the formation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and put pressure on world leaders for a global treaty on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo: smoke from industrial chimneys billows over St Petersburg. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)