IPCC Deadlocked Over the Timeline of Its Next Climate Reports: The Inclusivity Debate Explained
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world's top climate science body, has still not agreed on when to publish the reports of its seventh assessment cycle (AR7). The issue has been debated for nearly three years.
The IPCC's 195 member countries met for a plenary (full) session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, starting 12 October 2026, with the timeline still unresolved. An earlier session in Bangkok (IPCC-64, March 2026) also ended without a decision.
The IPCC's leadership has proposed that all three Working Group reports be approved by September 2028, before the UN climate talks of November 2028. A group of more than 30 countries (the High Ambition Coalition, including European, Latin American and small island states) supports this.
India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China want more time. They say a rushed timeline makes it hard for scientists from less-resourced countries to contribute and for developing country governments to review drafts properly. One proposal backed by India would finish the Working Group I report in July 2028, Working Group II in December 2028, Working Group III in April 2029, and the Synthesis Report in the second half of 2029.
The deadline matters because the reports are meant to feed into the second Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, which ends in November 2028.
The IPCC is also under money pressure. The United States, its largest funder, announced its withdrawal from the IPCC in January 2026.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, is the United Nations body that assesses the science of climate change. It does not do its own experiments or collect its own data. Instead, thousands of scientists read the research already published around the world and summarise what is known, how sure we are, and what the options are. Governments then use these reports to make climate policy and to negotiate climate treaties.
Because the IPCC works by consensus, the disagreement between countries that want all AR7 reports by 2028 and those that want more time has stalled the whole timeline. The dispute shows the tension at the heart of the IPCC: it must be fast enough to guide climate policy, and fair enough that every country's scientists can take part.
Global Stocktake (Article 14, Paris Agreement)
The Global Stocktake (GST) is a check-up, held every five years, of the whole world's progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. It looks at the combined effort of all countries, not at any one country. Its findings are meant to push countries to make their next climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) stronger. It is set out in Article 14 of the Paris Agreement.
Countries pushing for a 2028 deadline want the AR7 Working Group reports ready in time to inform the second Global Stocktake. If the reports slip to 2029, GST2 may have to rely on older science from AR6, which is why the timeline fight carries high stakes.
- IPCC: founded 1988 (WMO + UNEP); 195 members; HQ Geneva
- IPCC-65 plenary: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 12 October 2026
- IPCC-64: Bangkok, March 2026; AR7 timeline not agreed
- Chairs' proposal: all three AR7 Working Group reports approved by September 2028
- India-backed proposal: WG I by July 2028, WG II by December 2028, WG III by April 2029, Synthesis in the second half of 2029
- Countries seeking more time: India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China
- High Ambition Coalition (30+ countries) backs the 2028 timeline
- Second Global Stocktake: November 2026 to November 2028
- United States announced its withdrawal from the IPCC and 65 other international bodies in January 2026
- Just over half of AR7 lead authors and editors are from developing or transition economies