Climate: IPCC deadlocked over 2028 and 2029 reports
· BehindLines newsroom
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suspended its 65th session, held in Addis Ababa, on October 16 after governments failed to agree on the timetable for its seventh assessment report (AR7). Climate Action Network (CAN), whose representative attended the negotiations, confirmed the suspension. The disagreement could leave the next major global climate stocktake without some of the scientific assessments it was expecting.
Reports in 2028 or 2029?
The second global stocktake under the Paris Agreement is due to culminate at COP33 in late 2028. Several countries want the IPCC's three working-group reports to be available before that deadline. A compromise proposal put forward by co-chairs envisaged approval of the reports during 2028, with the last one around September. By contrast, some governments, notably India, Kenya, Russia and Saudi Arabia, advocated a timetable extending into 2029 for two reports.
Those seeking more time argue in particular that authors and government departments in countries with fewer resources need longer to produce, review and approve the work. This argument, along with the national positions, is described in Carbon Brief's analysis of the deadlock. Other delegations fear that reports appearing after COP33 would be less useful politically for the global stocktake.
The budget is also unresolved
The meeting ran beyond its scheduled time. According to Reuters, delegates from least-developed countries and small island states had to leave Addis Ababa before an agreement could be reached. That does not mean all of them favoured delaying publication: several island states instead support publication in 2028.
Beyond the reports' timetable, the IPCC's budget also remains undecided, Reuters reported. CAN called the outcome disappointing, while noting progress in discussions on different timetable options and more inclusive participation.
The session is to resume as soon as possible, with no new date confirmed. Scientific research and assessments already published are not invalidated by this disagreement: the deadlock concerns the organisation and funding of the work still to come.