Press Release
IPCC gathers in Hangzhou to agree on outlines of the key contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report
HANGZHOU, Feb 24 – The 62nd Plenary Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened today in Hangzhou, …
The Technical Support Unit of the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI TSU) wishes to recruit for a position at the Associate Staff level. This will be a fixed term appointment until June 2028 located in Hayama, Japan. Preferred commencement date is September 2025.
The TFI TSU is looking for self-motivated candidates with strong numeracy and communication skills and with around three to five years of work experience. Love of the IPCC and Japan is an advantage.
The IPCC Task Force on Inventories is responsible for implementing the work program agreed by the IPCC in relation to the assessment and development of GHG emissions estimation methodologies and their dissemination to users. The current work program includes the development of a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers, a Methodology Report on carbon dioxide removal technologies, and other GHG emissions inventory-related work such as GHG inventory tools, assessment work on the use of atmospheric measurements, the management of large datasets, etc.. The TFI also works to support the UNFCCC most notably through the development of the IPCC Inventory Software, which is available to be used by parties to report their inventories under the Paris Agreement.
Support the IPCC Task Force on Inventories Co-Chairs
Assessment and development of IPCC Methodologies
Efficient management of IPCC Inventory Software
Enhanced dissemination of IPCC methodologies
Efficient and ethical use of TSU resources
The Programme Officer will be employed by IGES as an Associate Staff on a fixed-term contract until June 2028.
Salary according to the IGES Associate Staff scale (from 5,000,000 to 6,500,000 Japanese Yen (before deduction of tax) depending on qualifications and experience) plus benefits in accordance with IGES regulations including 50% of housing costs subsidised (up to Yen 50,000 per month); commuting fares by public transportation; moving costs for assuming the post and on departure after successful completion of duties. Insurance (health, employee pension, unemployment and workers’ accident compensation) will be partly covered by IGES. Educational subsidies for children of non-Japanese staff are available, subject to IGES regulations.
Two percent of the Annual Standard Salary will be reserved for annual performance bonus depending on the performance in the year. Performance will be measured by the quality of their contribution to the TFI TSU’s goals and to the success of the TFI as well as the overall performance of IGES.
The salary will be revised every year depending on the performance in the previous year. Performance will be measured by the quality of their contribution to the TFI TSU’s goals and to the success of the TFI.
Conditions of employment for these positions are defined by the Regulations on Working of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. No tax exemption and no other privileges by Japanese authorities are applied to this position.
Completed applications and supporting documents should be in English and sent to tsu-vacancy@iges.or.jp addressed to:
Mr. Rob Sturgiss
Head of operations, IPCC TFI TSU
The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
2108-11, Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa,
240-0115, Japan
Applications should be received by 15 June 2025.
All the items listed below should be included in your curriculum vitae.
A. Personal Details
B. Educational Background
C. Work Experience
D. Language Ability
E. Data and Information Technology knowledge and skills
F. List of publications, if any
G. Awards, if any
H. Two Referees (Please state names, titles, contact addresses)
I. Availability. Indicate the timing of a potential start date that you could commit to.
An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent out to each applicant from TFI TSU. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted further. Interviews of short-listed candidates are expected to be conducted during July 2025.
With great sadness, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has learned of the death of Dr Mannava V.K. Sivakumar, who passed away on 30 March 2025 in Hyderabad, India.
Dr Mannava Sivakumar, fondly known as Shiv, was the Acting Secretary of the IPCC from January to June 20I6, the early stages of the sixth assessment cycle. During this time, Dr Sivakumar oversaw the organization of the 43rd Session of the IPCC, where the Panel decided which Special Reports it would work on in the sixth cycle.
He was the Director of the Climate Prediction and Adaptation branch of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) from 2010 to 2012 when he retired. From 1998 to 2010, he was the Head of WMO’s Agricultural Meteorological Division.
Dr Sivakumar received the 2007 International Service in Agronomy Award of the American Society of Agronomy, which recognizes outstanding contributions in research, teaching, extension, or administration made outside of the USA by an active agronomist.
Before joining WMO he worked at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) where his highest position was Principal Agricultural Climatologist at ICRISAT’s Sahelian Centre in Niamey, Niger.
Dr Sivakumar was born on 30th August 1950 in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. In 1970, he graduated from the Agriculture College, Bapatla, where he had studied since 1966. He completed his Master’s degree at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi in 1972 and obtained his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1977.
GENEVA, Mar 24 – Over 100 experts from more than 40 countries are meeting in Bilbao, Spain this week for the first meeting of authors and review editors of the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers (SLCF). This will be the first methodology report released by IPCC in the seventh assessment cycle and it is being prepared by the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI).
The 2027 Methodology Report is expected to provide guidance on anthropogenic emissions for Short-lived Climate Forcers, not including secondary human-induced substances.
“The report aims to provide clear guidance on measuring emissions from key short-lived climate forcing substances, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and others, which significantly contribute to global and regional air quality and climate change,” said Takeshi Enoki, one of the Co-Chairs of the TFI.
This week´s meeting in Bilbao marks the beginning of the drafting process of this Methodology Report which is scheduled to be released in March 2027. The Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors at this meeting will start developing the report based on the outline agreed by the Panel during its 61st Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria in July/August 2024.
“We are excited to begin work on this report with a diverse group of experts selected from the 394 nominations we received. Their work will be important for enhancing the data used in climate models,” said Mazhar Hayat, TFI Co-Chair.
Following the Panel’s 61st Session, the IPCC called for nominations of experts to act as Authors and Review Editors of the 2027 Methodology Report in August 2024. The TFI Bureau, also known as the Task Force Bureau, in consultation with relevant Working Group Co-Chairs selected the report’s Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors and Review Editors. In their selection, they considered scientific and technical expertise, geographical and gender balance in line with Appendix A to the Principles Governing IPCC Work.
A preliminary list of the Authors for the 2027 Methodology Report is available here.
Following the Lead Author Meeting, there will be an outreach event hosted by the Spanish Climate Change Office at the Bizkaia Aretoa in Bilbao on 27 March 2025. More details on the event are available here.
For more information, contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int;
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516; Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120.
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
During its 62nd Plenary Session held in Hangzhou, China, in February 2025, the Panel has agreed on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7.. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.
At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including 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.
GENEVA, Mar 21 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is inviting its member governments and accredited observer organizations to nominate experts to serve as Co-Chairs and members of the Task Group on Data Support for Climate Change Assessments (TG-Data). A call for nominations of experts by governments and observer organizations to serve as TG-Data members has been launched. Nominations should be submitted by Thursday 17 April 2025 (midnight CEST).
The final selection of TG-Data members will be undertaken by the IPCC Bureau.
The IPCC Task Group on data support provides guidance to the IPCC’s Data Distribution Centre on the curation, traceability, stability, availability and transparency of data and scenarios related to IPCC reports.
The TG-Data work mainly requires but is not restricted to data specialists, with a particular expertise in areas such as data provenance, scientific workflows, climate data handling systems, FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) Data principles, and development and/or analysis of climate and observational datasets.
TG-Data membership is renewed with the author selection process of a new assessment IPCC report. Following the agreement on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report reached at the Panel´s 62nd Plenary last month, the IPCC is currently calling for the nomination of authors for these three Working Group contributions.
More information on the TG-Data is available here.
For more information, contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516; Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120.
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
During its 62nd Plenary Session held in Hangzhou, China, in February 2025, the Panel agreed on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to AR7.
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.
At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including 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.
GENEVA, Mar 20 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is inviting applications for the IPCC Scholarship Programme from doctoral degree students who have been enrolled for at least a year, as well as those conducting post-doctoral research.
Research proposals focusing on climate change and related issues are encouraged, as well as other topics such as: Living soils, biodiversity, regenerative viticulture, agroforestry, water management, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and terrestrial carbon cycle.
Each scholarship award is for a maximum amount of 15,000 Euros per year for up to two years during the period 2025-2027.
Applicants should be citizens of a developing country and students from Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States not studying in their country of origin will be prioritized.
To apply, please register via the application portal here: https://apps.ipcc.ch/scholarship/
Applicants have until midnight CEST on Sunday 13 April 2025 to submit their forms through the portal.
Applications will only be received via the application portal and applicants who will not provide all the required documents will not be considered.
For more information, please contact:
Mxolisi Shongwe, Programme Officer, +41(22) 730 8438, ipcc-sp@wmo.int
or visit the scholarship page here: https://www.ipcc.ch/about/scholarship/
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 IPCC Scholarship Programme
The IPCC Scholarship Programme was established with the funds received from the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, supplemented by generous contributions from other donors.
The Programme was further made possible through generous contributions by governments, its long-standing funding partners, organizations and individuals. The first partner of the Programme was Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change. Funding support was provided by the Governments of Germany and Norway. Other individuals and organizations that have supported the programme over the years, include Aster Finance, Cheng Fa Qing, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele (Chair of the Board of Trustees), Hoesung Lee (former IPCC Chair), The AXA Research Fund, Dickinson College, The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and The Cuomo Foundation.
Twenty-four students from developing countries and countries with economies in transition were awarded IPCC scholarships in the Seventh round (2023-2025). Since the first awards in 2011, a total of 116 students have been supported.
GENEVA, Mar 11 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is calling for nominations of experts to act as Coordinating Lead Authors, Lead Authors, or Review Editors for the three key Working Group contributions to IPCC´s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7). This follows the Panel’s agreement on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions during its 62nd Session held in Hangzhou, China.
Hundreds of experts around the world in different scientific domains volunteer their time and expertise to produce the reports of the IPCC. Author teams reflect a range of scientific, technical and socio-economic expertise. Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors are responsible for drafting the different chapters of the Working Group contributions to the AR7 and, with the help of the Review Editors, revising those based on comments submitted during the two rounds of reviews by experts and governments.
“Our priority for the Seventh Assessment Report is to attract the most talented individuals across the whole spectrum of scientific, technical and socio-economic research. We would like to see balanced author teams involving both established experts and younger scientists new to the IPCC. It is essential that we reflect fully the breadth and depth of knowledge on climate change and climate action” said IPCC Chair Jim Skea.
IPCC author teams include a mix of experts from different regions to ensure geographic balance. The IPCC also seeks a balance in gender, as well as between those experienced with working on IPCC reports and those new to the process, including younger scientists.
During the 60th Session of the IPCC in January 2024, the Panel agreed to continue to prepare a comprehensive assessment report and to maintain the current Working Group structure where Working Group I assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and climate change; Working Group II looks at impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability to climate change, and Working Group III assesses the mitigation of climate change.
The outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the AR7 were developed after a comprehensive scientific scoping meeting in December 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before the Panel considered them and agreed upon them at the end of February.
Those interested in being nominated as a Coordinating Lead Author, a Lead Author or a Review Editor should contact their relevant Focal Point. A list of Focal Points for IPCC member governments and observer organizations is available here.
Nominations are submitted through a dedicated online nomination tool by Focal Points in governments and accredited observer organizations, as well as IPCC Bureau Members.
Governments, Observer Organisations, and IPCC Bureau Members have been requested to submit their nominations by Thursday 17 April 2025 (midnight CEST).
More information on the nomination process is here and how the IPCC selects its authors is available here.
For more information, contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int;
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516; Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120.
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
During its 62nd Plenary Session held in Hangzhou, China, in February 2025, the Panel has agreed on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7.. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.
At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including 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.
OSAKA, Japan, Mar 10 – The First Lead Author Meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Cities taking place in Osaka, Japan, from 10 to 14 March 2025, will bring together almost 100 selected experts from more than 50 countries.
The meeting, hosted at the Osaka International Convention Centre by the Ministry of Environment of Japan, will bring together experts with backgrounds in physical science, impacts, adaptation, vulnerability, and mitigation, including researchers and practitioners from urban communities designated to serve as Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors on the report, who have been selected by the scientific bureaus of the three Working Groups.
“The IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities will provide a foundation for all of us to harness the full potential of our cities in tackling climate change, ensuring that they are resilient, inclusive and sustainable for generations to come. We look forward to the insights that our invited experts will bring to developing a robust and actionable report,” said Winston Chow, Co-Chair of Working Group II.
The meeting marks the beginning of the drafting process for this Special Report, which is the only Special Report of the seventh assessment cycle and is scheduled to be finalized in March 2027. Selected authors will work on developing the report based on the outline agreed by the Panel during its 61st Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 27 July to 2 August 2024. In this lead author meeting, authors will discuss the literature to be assessed in the report, and how the different chapters will complement each other.
The Special Report on Climate Change and Cities will provide a timely assessment of the latest science related to climate change and cities, including climate impacts and risks, as well as adaptation and mitigation solutions.
“It is exciting to meet the leading experts selected from all corners of the world and diverse fields who come together to draft this Special Report. We applaud the commitment of the scientists and practitioners who volunteer their time and work towards a more liveable future of our cities.” said Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee for the scoping of the Special Report and Vice Chair of the IPCC.
For more information about this meeting and related interview requests, please contact Woo Qiyun, Senior Communications Manager of the IPCC Working Group II Technical Support Unit, media@ipccwg2.org
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7.. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage. At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including 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.
HANGZHOU, Mar 01 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has agreed on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) during its 62nd Plenary session, which concluded today in Hangzhou, China.
The Panel also approved IPCC’s overall budget for 2025.
“Despite the heavy agenda, thanks to the Panel’s ability to build and achieve multilateral consensus, and the tireless work of the IPCC’s scientific Bureau, we now have clarity on the scope of the scientific content. This allows us to put together author teams and kick start our work on the Seventh Assessment Report.” said IPCC Chair Jim Skea.
From here, governments, observer organisations and IPCC Bureau members will nominate experts to serve as authors.
The Panel’s agreement concludes the initial phase of defining critically important scientific content for the Seventh Assessment Report.
The three Working Group contributions assess the physical science basis of climate change; impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and mitigation of climate change.
The Panel will consider the outline of the Synthesis Report – the fourth and final instalment of the Seventh Assessment Report – at a later date. The Synthesis Report will integrate the contributions of the three Working Groups and the Special Report produced during the seventh cycle. It will be released in the second half of 2029 in line with the Panel’s decision from January 2024.
For more information, contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int;
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7.. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage. At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including 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.
HANGZHOU, Feb 24 – The 62nd Plenary Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened today in Hangzhou, China, to consider and agree on the draft outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) and the Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage.
During the week-long session, the delegates representing Panel’s 195 member governments will also consider the respective timelines and budgets for these four reports.
“This is a pivotal session for the delivery of the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report”, said IPCC Chair Jim Skea.
The Panel’s agreement on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report and the Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage as proposed by the scoping meeting participants will clear the way for the scientists to start their work on these four reports.
The meeting’s agenda also includes IPCC program and budget and an early consideration of the AR7 Synthesis Report-the final installment of the Seventh Assessment Report to be finalized by late 2029. No decision about the Synthesis Report is expected at this point.
On behalf of the People’s Republic of China hosting this Plenary, the country’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin, and Chen Zhenlin, Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration, welcomed delegates and observer organisations at an opening ceremony at InterContinental Hangzhou in the Zhejiang province.
In addition to the IPCC Chair, more than 400 delegates were also addressed by Ko Barrett the Deputy Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization. The ceremony also included screening of video messages from Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Simon Stiell the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Except for the opening session, the IPCC meeting is closed to media.
Video messages and other visuals from the opening session will be available here.
For more information, contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int;
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516; Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120.
Notes for Editors
What is 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, scientists and 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 Seventh Assessment Cycle
Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi.
At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029.
The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7.. Scientists have also been asked to deliver a Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage. At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half 2027.
In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.
IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.
The Sixth Assessment Report comprises three Working Group contributions and a Synthesis Report. The Working Group I contribution 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023. The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distils and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.
The special reports were on Global Warming of 1.5°C (October 2018.), Climate Change and Land (August 2019) and, the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (September 2019).
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
The website includes outreach materials including 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.
24 February 2025, Hangzhou, China
Check Against Delivery
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, excellencies, dear hosts,
As Chair of the IPCC – allow me first to welcome government delegations, representatives of observer organizations, and IPCC Bureau members attending the Panel’s 62nd Plenary Session.
I also take this opportunity to welcome the staff of the IPCC Secretariat and the Technical Support Units as well as media representatives joining us for the opening ceremony.
I am pleased to greet our dear colleagues and friends. We are honoured that China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin, Administrator of the China Meteorological Administration Chen Zhenlin and Li Yanyi, Vice Governor from Zhejiang Province, will address our opening ceremony this morning.
We will also see recorded video messages from the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, and the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Simon Stiell. I am particularly delighted that our former Vice-Chair and the current Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation Ko Barret is with us for the duration of this plenary.
I also wish to express our special gratitude to the government of China, the authorities of the Zhejiang province and the City of Hangzhou for their warm welcome, exceptional setting and exemplary support and facilitation of this critically important Panel session. We are genuinely impressed by the outstanding organisation of this Plenary. Our hosts have spared no effort to ensure the best possible working environment and conditions for the Panel to deliver in an efficient and timely manner the ambitious programme of work planned for this session.
Since the start of this seventh assessment cycle just 18 months ago, we have made important and steady progress. Six months ago, the Panel gave the green light to the outlines of the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, and the Methodology Report on Short-Lived Climate Forcers, opening up the process for nominating and selecting authors. With selected authors on board, the first Lead Author Meetings for both reports will take place next month.
Now turning to the impacts of IPCC’s work, it is evident that our timely, policy-relevant and actionable assessment reports have never been more pertinent. Our relevance for policymakers was manifestly reaffirmed and acknowledged in the key decisions of COP29 in Baku.
Specifically – in decisions on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance and UAE Dialogue on the implementation of the Global Stocktake, there were prominent references to the findings from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
The Decision on the Global Goal on Adaptation welcomed IPCC’s own decision to revise and update the 1994 Technical Guidelines for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations and invited the IPCC to organise a special event at the next session of Subsidiary Bodies in June this year.
Lastly, I would like to highlight the COP29 decision on Research and Systematic Observation which noted with appreciation, and welcomed, the statements delivered by the IPCC and welcomed the ongoing work of the IPCC in the seventh assessment cycle.
This week we have a rich and demanding agenda to cover. It is a pivotal session for the cycle, and we will be focused on the science. We will be agreeing outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report. The Bureau and selected scientists who met at the Scoping Meeting for the Seventh Assessment Report in Kuala Lumpur in December have done their utmost to bring scientifically strong and well-structured drafts to this plenary.
We will also consider the draft outline of the Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, and Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, a report scheduled for release in 2027.
I’d like to finish by acknowledging the strong and steady support that IPCC member countries have demonstrated in sustaining every aspect of our work. Both support for the science that powers our assessments and generous voluntary contributions. Government support ensures the scientific integrity and continuity of the IPCC as the most authoritative and policy-relevant voice on climate science globally.
Thank you.