IPCC has been unable to agree on timetable for new reports for almost three years — Kathmandu Post
Representatives of 195 member states of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are due to gather in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to try to agree on the timing of publication of the next reports on global climate science. The organization has been unable to make a decision on the schedule for almost three years, although such deadlines are usually approved within minutes, Kathmandu Post reports.
Many participants see the meeting as the last chance to agree on releasing the reports before the UN climate talks in November 2028. Governments are then due to assess progress toward the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The absence of updated assessments could leave countries without an agreed scientific basis for decisions on climate finance and national emissions-reduction targets.
Dispute over the timetable
The IPCC plans to prepare three reports: on the scale and causes of climate change, on vulnerability and adaptation, and on options for preventing further warming. The co-chairs of the working groups proposed approving all three documents by September 2028.
Countries calling for additional time include India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, and China. They point out that specialists from countries with limited resources face greater difficulty in publishing research on time and taking leave for unpaid work at the IPCC. Kenyan climate scientist Joyce Kimutai said that an overly rapid process would not be inclusive.
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Opponents of the current timetable seek to move the second and third reports to 2029. In their view, there is not enough time to process thousands of studies, agree on wording, and complete expert and government reviews.
Political and scientific differences
Some supporters of publication by 2028 note that major oil-producing countries are also actively advocating for additional time. Swedish IPCC editor Lisa Schipper called politics a key factor in the dispute and suggested that some states are using the debate to delay the process.
Indian IPCC representative Thyagarajan Jayaraman said it would be short-sighted to assess the panel's work solely through its contribution to the 2028 negotiations.
The next IPCC reports will, for the first time, include chapters on climate finance and responses to irreversible damage caused to individual countries. They are also expected to examine knowledge gaps regarding exceeding the warming threshold, including the possible consequences of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In 2024, the average global temperature was more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level for the first time.
