The IPCC has failed to agree on a timeline for its Seventh Assessment Cycle reports for the sixth consecutive time since 2024.
Least Developed Countries warn that further delays could prevent crucial climate science from informing the second Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement in 2028.
India, Saudi Arabia, Russia and several other countries favour publishing two major reports in 2029, citing concerns over scientific rigour and inclusive participation.
The IPCC's 65th plenary session in Ethiopia was suspended without agreement on the publication schedule or budget.
The timeline for publishing three Working Group reports by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Seventh Assessment Cycle (AR7) remains unresolved after delegates failed to reach an agreement at the body’s 65th plenary session, held from October 12 to 16, 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This was the sixth consecutive occasion since 2024 that delegates were unable to agree on a publication schedule.
On October 21, the Least Developed Countries (LDC) negotiating group under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) expressed deep disappointment that the session had been suspended without a decision on the timeline for the reports, which are intended to inform global climate action.
During the plenary, some countries raised concerns that the proposed schedule would be too short to allow a rigorous and inclusive scientific assessment across the three working groups under the AR7 cycle. The reports cover the physical science basis of climate change (Working Group I), impacts, adaptation and vulnerability (Working Group II), and climate change mitigation (Working Group III).
“IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change,” according to IPCC’s website.
Vulnerable countries warn of delays to climate action
In a statement, the LDC group warned that the continued uncertainty over the AR7 timeline risked losing “the opportunity for the best available science to inform the second Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement”.
The Global Stocktake is a five-yearly process under the Paris Agreement through which countries collectively assess progress towards the agreement's objectives and long-term goals. According to the UNFCCC, the process examines “where the world stands on climate action and support, identifying the gaps, and working together to agree on solutions pathways to safeguard our future.”
The first Global Stocktake took place at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2023. The second is scheduled for 2028, at COP33.
The LDC group said that, despite repeated discussions, a small number of countries continued to push for longer timelines, particularly for Working Groups II and III, “which address critical issues of climate impacts, adaptation, loss and damage, mitigation and finance—issues critical to vulnerable developing countries.”
India and other countries push for longer timelines
According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Saudi Arabia, India, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Syria and Belarus favoured publishing the Working Group II and III reports in 2029.
These countries argued that the IPCC's independence should be respected and that an earlier deadline could place excessive pressure on government reviewers and scientific experts, potentially compromising scientific rigor and inclusivity.
“Delaying critical climate science represents a betrayal to vulnerable developing countries that urgently need timely, science-based climate action, as well as a betrayal of the principles of Global South solidarity,” said Adao Soares Barbosa, chair of the LDC group, as part of the statement.
“India objected to references to a “delayed” timeline, saying it is more compressed than those of AR5 or AR6, lamented that climate finance never arrives and technology is not transferred but sold, and said vulnerable communities, including India, need to be equal partners in the science,” according to ENB.
India said they shared the disappointment in not completing the work, ENB reported. “They had tried to have the discussion that was carried out in the final hours of the contact group for over a year, and they looked forward to continuing as soon as possible,” as reported by ENB.
Some other countries wanted to find a middle ground. “Yemen called for discussing every option and carefully considering the workloads imposed by quick timelines. Tunisia stressed the need for consensus, calling for an agreement that does not compromise rigor,” according to ENB.
Zambia argued that delivering the best available science in time for the second Global Stocktake, while ensuring developing countries could participate fully, was achievable if safeguards were introduced. These would include “no back-to-back government reviews and overlaps, guaranteed support for developing countries, and pre-plenary briefings”, as per ENB. Countries such as Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania also made similar interventions during the session.
IPCC chair suspends meeting without agreement
The IPCC’s chairperson Jim Skea had to suspend the plenary session in the late evening hours of October 16 without conclusion on the timeline for the WG reports and budget required for conducting the organisation’s work as many developing country delegation had to leave after the meeting overran its scheduled time and many issues still needed resolution.
“I suspended the 65th Plenary Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Addis Ababa. This means that the work of this Plenary has not finished”, said Jim Skea in a statement on October 17.
“When our work ran past our planned conclusion time, it became clear that many delegates, including those from our most vulnerable countries and those with small delegations, had to leave to return home”, Skea added.
“Inclusive participation by these and all other governments in IPCC plenary sessions and its work is essential to ensure that global climate assessments are robust, representative, and responsive to the needs of all countries,” according to Skea.
The LDC group recognised the IPCC Chair’s decision to suspend the session for safeguarding inclusivity. “For countries on the frontlines of climate change, timely science is not a matter of convenience. It is essential for protecting lives, livelihoods, and our futures. We cannot afford a process in which the best available science arrives too late to inform decisions that will shape our survival,” Barbosa added in the LDC statement.
“Working with our member governments and the IPCC scientific leadership, and with support from the IPCC Secretariat, I will reconvene this plenary session at the earliest opportunity so the Panel can effectively conclude its business,” added Skea in his statement.