IPCC fails to agree date for next climate report

The UN's IPCC climate panel ended a week of talks without agreement on when to release its next major assessment of global warming, French climate envoy Benoit Faraco said on Friday.

Faraco said “a few countries” had pressed to delay publication beyond the 2028 date wanted by many European countries for the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

“The 65th session of the IPCC plenary just ended without an agreement on the timeline for the publication of the next assessment report,” Faraco posted on LinkedIn.

Many countries want the next major IPCC report released in 2028 for a key review of progress on cutting planet-warming emissions. Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, India and China, say delaying the seventh assessment report until 2029 would give developing countries more time to absorb its findings.

IPCC chair Jim Skea had urged nations at the opening of the Addis Ababa meeting to end the stalemate, warning of the “organisational and reputational significance” of the decision.

Last week, ministers from more than 30 nations signed a letter criticising “those whose entrenched interests are at odds with reducing greenhouse gases.” The signatories included European and other industrialised countries, the chair of the Least Developed Countries group, ministers from small-island states and several emerging economies.

IPCC reports are normally released every five to seven years. The sixth assessment report came out in 2021.