The Chair gave his opening address, outlining the issues faced by the Panel in preparing for the Fourth Assessment Report and highlighted the rigorous efforts undertaken thus far in scoping the structure and contents of the report. The Panel noted that the preparation of an AR4 SYR that would meet the expectations of most delegations would require extensive consultation and the early and full commitment of many of those who would also be involved in the preparation of the individual Working Group (WG) reports. It noted that the AR4 SYR could: Bring together the main messages from the individual WG reports: Synthesise cross-cutting information from the individual WG reports, including the AR4 cross-cutting themes: Provide a top-down perspective for decision makers on issues covered by the AR4: Produce an overview of the key conclusions of AR4 in non-technical and readily translatable language: Re-assess the policy relevant questions addressed in the TAR SYR.