Opening of the media registration for the release of the IPCC´s Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report

Updated on 14 March 2023 to extend the registration deadline to midnight CET on Thursday 16 March 2023.

Updated on 6 March 2023 to include the time of the press conference, which is 14.00 CET on Monday 20 March 2023.

GENEVA, Feb 27 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will consider the Synthesis Report, the closing chapter of the sixth assessment cycle, at its 58th Session to be held from 13 to 17 March 2023 in Interlaken, Switzerland. 

The Synthesis Report will integrate the findings of six reports released by IPCC during the cycle which began in 2015. This includes three Special Reports and the three IPCC Working Group contributions to the Sixth Assessment Report.

During the week-long session, governments will approve the Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report line by line and adopt the longer report section by section.

Release of the Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers – Press Conference

After the 58th Session of the IPCC and subject to the Panel’s approval of the Summary for Policymakers as well as the adoption of the longer report, the Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report will be presented at a hybrid press conference scheduled for:

14:00 p.m. CET on Monday, 20 March 2023 – 09.00 DST (New York), 13:00 GMT (London), 16:00 EAT (Nairobi), 20:00 ICT (Bangkok)

Where: Congress Kursaal Interlaken (Entrance Parc East) , Strandbadstrasse 44, Interlaken  

Please note that media registration is required to attend the press conference either in person or virtually.

The press conference will also be streamed live.

Important details and instructions about the media accreditation process are in the “How to register” section below.

Media representatives who will register for virtual attendance of the press conference will also receive details on how to submit questions closer to the time of the press conference.  Only registered media representatives will have access to IPCC´s embargoed media materials.

Further details about the scheduled speakers, which will include the IPCC Chair and senior UN officials, the venue and how to access the live stream will be sent closer to the time.

The IPCC Chair, IPCC Bureau Members and authors of the report will be available for interviews after the press conference. Details on how media can request interviews will be sent in the coming weeks.

Access to embargoed materials

The Summary for Policymakers of Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report, the press release and other media materials will be made available to registered media representatives under embargo shortly after approval of the Summary for Policymakers and adoption of the longer report.

The exact time when the embargoed material will be made available will depend on the duration of the plenary approving the Summary for Policymakers and adopting the longer report. Registered media will receive an email alert when the embargoed materials have been posted.

Please note that registering for the press conference will not automatically provide access to embargoed materials. Media representatives wishing to access the embargoed materials must select the option for “embargo” in the online accreditation form, regardless of whether they are registering to attend the press conference. 

The embargo will be lifted at the start of the press conference. Registering for access to embargoed materials will require media representatives to adhere to the embargo terms. Failure to adhere to the conditions, e.g. publishing stories based on the embargoed materials before the start of the press conference, will result in IPCC withdrawing access to future embargoed materials and embargo arrangements.

How to Register – Registration for the press conference and embargoed materials

The IPCC operates its own press accreditation system.

It is not necessary to register simply to watch the live stream of the press conference.

However, registration is required for media representatives who wish to attend the press conference either in person or virtually and pose questions, as well as to access embargoed materials.

Media representatives who will register to attend the press conference virtually will receive additional instructions on how to submit questions during the press conference.  

To register, please click the “Register” button here and complete the registration form.

Please ensure that you have scanned copies of your credentials ready when you start filling in the form, as the system will only allow you to proceed with uploading these documents. You can upload up to two files no larger than 4MB in total in JPG, PNG, and PDF formats.

The required credentials are:

  • A letter of assignment requesting accreditation on the official letterhead of a media organisation, signed by the publisher, editor-in-chief, or assignment editor. It should include the name and duration of the assignment of the journalist; and
  • A valid press card; or a valid media accreditation badge for the United Nations in New York, Geneva, Vienna or Nairobi. If you do not have a press card, please submit three recent samples (i.e. from the last six months) of your work in a relevant area and a scanned copy of a valid photo ID or passport.

Note to UN correspondents: Media representatives accredited to the United Nations in New York, Geneva, Vienna or Nairobi only need to submit a copy of their valid accreditation badge in order to register. 

Before filling in the form, please carefully read the guidelines below, which need to be followed by all users, including media representatives who have used the system before. 

Step-by-step guide through the IPCC media registration:

On the IPCC media portal, follow the following steps:

  • Click Register
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  • Read the pop-up message. You need to agree to proceed to the form.
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  • On the registration form, select the event.
  • Select one or more of the following options: Press Conference (online); Press Conference (in-person); Embargo (check this box if you want to receive access to the embargoed materials).

Note: please select the in-person option only if you will attend the press conference in person.   

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  • Fill in the rest of the form.
  • Upload your credentials.
  • Click “Request Access”.
  • Read the information on the pop-up window and click “Yes, I agree” to submit the form.
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The IPCC media team will review your accreditation request and credentials. You will receive an e-mail confirming your accreditation.

The confirmation e-mail to the media representatives who will opt to attend the press conference in person will include additional information on when and where to collect their badges allowing access to the press conference venue.

If you requested access to the embargoed materials, you would receive an e-mail with credentials to sign into the IPCC media portal. To access the portal, you must agree to respect the terms of the embargo.

If you have used the system before, the email you receive will indicate that you should use “Your global IPCC password”, which refers to your previous password. In case you have lost it, please click “Forgot password” on the IPCC media registration page.

Please note that due to the high volume of incoming requests, registration confirmation might take several days. 

The new deadline for media registration is midnight CET on Thursday, 16 March 2023. We encourage media representatives to register for the press conference as soon as possible. The IPCC has limited capacity to deal with late or last-minute requests and cannot guarantee that it will be able to review requests submitted after the deadline.

For larger media teams, please note that each media team member should register individually using their unique e-mail address.

Other arrangements

The IPCC will advise media representatives on how and when to request interviews with IPCC experts and scientists working on the Synthesis Report.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

IPCC Press Office, Email: media@ipcc.ch 

Andrej Mahecic, + 41 22 730 8516, Werani Zabula, + 41 22 730 8120, Nina Peeva, + 41 22 730 8142

Notes for Editors

About the IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In the same year, the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. It has 195 member states.

Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, experts volunteer their time as IPCC authors to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.

The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.

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. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.

About the Sixth Assessment Cycle

Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 6 to 7 years; the latest, the Fifth Assessment Report, was completed in 2014 and provided the main scientific input to the Paris Agreement. 

At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015, it elected a new Bureau to oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle. At its 43rd Session in April 2016, it decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report and AR6. 

The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The Working Group III contribution, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was released on 4 April 2022.

The IPCC is currently working on the final instalment of the Sixth Assessment Report, the Synthesis Report, which will integrate the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.

Global Warming of 1.5°C, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty was launched in October 2018.

Climate Change and Land, an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems, was launched in August 2019, and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate was released in September 2019.

In May 2019, the IPCC released the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, an update to the methodology used by governments to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions and removals. 

For more information, visit www.ipcc.ch.

The website includes outreach materials, videos about the IPCC, and video recordings from outreach events conducted as webinars or live-streamed events.

Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on our YouTube channel. 

-ENDS-