IPCC Meeting Suspended, AR7 Timeline Disputed

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) halted its week-long meeting in Addis Ababa without setting a date for the next comprehensive assessment report. The suspension comes less than a month before the Cop31 climate summit, leaving the schedule for the seventh assessment report (AR7) uncertain.

The Guardian

AR7 was slated for publication in 2028, exactly ten years after the 2015 Paris Agreement’s “global stocktake” that evaluates nations’ emissions pledges. The previous assessment, AR6, was released in 2021. A coalition of governments led by Saudi Arabia, Russia and India—and including China and Kenya—has argued for postponing the 2028 release, claiming that the IPCC’s science is dominated by developed-country perspectives. They contend that a delay would allow greater input from developing nations. The IPCC notes that most of the physical-science content for AR7 is already peer-reviewed and that incorporating new data at this stage would be technically difficult.

The Guardian

The IPCC maintains that its processes already strive for geographic equity, emphasizing that scientists from around the world participate in its working groups. It argues that the bulk of the underlying physics and chemistry—fundamental to climate modeling—does not vary between developed and developing regions, and that the existing review pipeline is designed to ensure scientific rigor.

The Guardian

Civil-society leaders argue that the dispute is not merely procedural. They warn that postponing the report could hinder the ability of governments to set ambitious emissions targets at Cop31. Critics also stress that meaningful participation of developing-country researchers and adequate funding from wealthier nations are essential to address equity concerns without sacrificing timeliness.

The Guardian

• “It is deeply frustrating that governments have failed to agree a way forward. Developing countries must have a meaningful voice in shaping that science, and wealthy nations must provide the funding needed to make that possible. But legitimate concerns about fairness cannot become an excuse for endless delays.” — Oscar Soria, director at the Common Initiative group

The Guardian

• “The failure to agree the timeline is not a procedural detail, it has real consequences.. The answer is not to choose between urgency and equity, but to provide the resources and support needed to achieve both.” — Oscar Soria, director at the Common Initiative group

The Guardian