27 October 2025, Lima, Peru.
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Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Hugo de Zela,
Deputy Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources at the Ministry of Environment, Ms Raquel Hilianova Soto Torres,
Director of Climate Change Division of the UN Environment Programme, Martin Krause,
Distinguished delegates, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the sixty-third plenary session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the IPCC.
Allow me first to greet government delegations, representatives of observer organisations and members of the IPCC Bureau.
As the IPCC Chair, I wish to thank our hosts – the Peruvian government and the city of Lima – for their hospitality and excellent organisation. I know that they have made extraordinary efforts to show their hospitality and welcome us here in not the easiest circumstances.
Our host is a country of ancient civilisation – the Inca people. We have much to learn from cultures that came before us. The structures at Machu Picchu stand as a testament to the Incas’ engineering prowess, with structures built to last and designed to be earthquake-resistant. They practised disaster risk reduction before the term was invented.
This brings me to why we are in Lima this week. More than two years into the seventh assessment cycle, this is our fourth Plenary session. Input from the elected Bureau has been instrumental work in guiding the Panel and ensuring steady progress.
The expert review of the First Order Draft of the Special Report on Cities and Climate Change began ten days ago and will run until mid-December. The second Lead Author meeting for the Methodology Report on Short-Lived Climate Forcers took place less than two weeks ago, and authors are now working on the First Order Draft.
The Panel’s February decision on the scientific content of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report enabled us to invite nominations of experts to serve as authors. The Bureau concluded its selection in July, and by the end of August, we had appointed 664 authors from more than 100 countries. Among them are seven Peruvian scientists working on the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and the three Working Groups’ reports. With nominations exceeding available places by a factor of almost six, this speaks to the high quality of the Peruvian nominations.
During these 24 months of the cycle, significant progress has been made on expanded access to scientific literature for authors from developing countries, on a successful Expert Meeting on Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, and on securing support for Chapter Scientists from developing countries. These efforts reflect a growing commitment to inclusivity, diversity and equity across IPCC.
Ladies and gentlemen,
By now, we know the scope of scientific knowledge we need to assess for the Seventh Assessment Report, and who will be delivering the work.
The missing piece is a Panel decision setting out the workplans for the three Working Group reports. This is one of the priority agenda items this week.
Our work for this week also includes completing the outline of the Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. Agreement on the outline is essential if we are to move forward promptly with this report.
Before I close, allow me to thank our member governments for their scientific and financial support. Our delivery of the most up-to-date, rigorously reviewed, best available science relies on voluntary financial contributions from our member governments.
I invite all member governments to offer support for the vitally important work that the Panel has agreed upon for this cycle. The IPCC Trust Fund is the main mechanism supporting participation from developing country governments and scientists.
Every contribution to the IPCC Trust Fund is important and appreciated. But predictable, multi-year funding commitments are especially valuable. They are vital for securing a sustainable and inclusive basis for IPCC’s current and future work.
Your voluntary contributions ensure the scientific integrity and continuity of the IPCC as the most authoritative and policy-relevant voice on climate science globally.
Thank you.
ENDS