IPCC to resume talks on key climate report in December

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will resume talks from December 1 to 3 after member states failed to agree on the timing of its next major climate report.

The United Nations climate science body said the resumed session will be held virtually. It will address two agenda items left unresolved after talks in Addis Ababa: the next major IPCC report and the budget supporting the panel's work.

The IPCC suspended its latest negotiations on October 16 after a week of talks in the Ethiopian capital.

Many of the IPCC's nearly 200 member countries want the next major report released in time for a UN climate summit in 2028. That summit is due to assess global progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Some members, including Saudi Arabia, India and China, have argued that more time is needed to include science and data from developing nations and have said the report should be delayed until 2029.

IPCC reports assess climate change, its causes, possible impacts and options for responding. They are used by governments in climate policy, international agreements and court rulings. The most recent major report came out in 2021.