By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Hundreds of climate experts from around the world will gather in Busan, the nation's second-largest city, in April next year to seek orchestrated countermeasures against global warming.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) will host the 32nd International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) congress, one of the largest international events in the environment field next year.

More than 1,000 government officials, climate experts and non-governmental organization members from 190 countries are expected to visit the city to discuss issues to stem man-made climate disasters, the KMA said.

The panel will also discuss the schedule for the fifth report on the latest information, possible government policies, effects and adjustments to climate change.

In the fourth report, the IPCC warned that climate change, especially the effects of global warming, has developed at a faster pace than assumed and unless humans develop drastic measures, there may be a gloomy future.

The Korean government has formed a preparation committee with the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the KMA, among other bodies.

The IPCC is set up by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program to provide information to policymakers and others interested in climate change.

Its series of reports are acknowledged by nearly all governments and are considered as barometers to understanding the phenomenon.

Meanwhile, another international climate meeting ― the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology ― will be held in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, at the Yeosu Expo in 2012.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr