Over 200 authors from the IPCC’s Working Group II gather in the Bahamas to work on the draft of the next scientific report assessing climate impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities.
NASSAU, May 18 —The authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working on the next Working Group II report which assesses the latest science related to climate impacts, adaptation pathways and vulnerabilities are meeting in Nassau, Bahamas this week to develop the report’s first draft. This is the second time authors are meeting to advance work on the report, also known as the Second Lead Author Meeting. Taking place from 18 to 22 May 2026, this meeting brings together more than 200 authors of the Working Group II from nearly 90 countries. This marks a critical milestone in the development of the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).
“Increasingly, climate impacts are being felt around the world. They are a present reality everywhere. The Bahamas is a living case study of the current climate realities our report must address,” said Prof Winston Chow, Co-Chair of the IPCC Working Group II
“Being hosted by a small island state is a reminder to us that the science assessment we produce has direct consequences for communities on the frontlines of climate change. We are grateful to the Government of The Bahamas for their support for our work”, he added.
Working Group II focuses on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability — topics of acute relevance to small island developing states and coastal nations such as the Bahamas. In the AR7, the Working Group II contribution consists of 20 chapters. In addition to its report, the Working Group II authors will also update the 1994 Technical Guidelines for Assessing Climate Change Impact and Adaptations (TGIA).
“As a Bahamian climate change scientist, it is essential for the IPCC to advance understanding and action on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. These are critical issues for The Bahamas and other small islands around the world on the frontlines of climate impacts. This meeting provides an opportunity for authors to witness first-hand the realities on the ground for vulnerable island communities and to encourage Caribbean experts to engage with the IPCC,” said Dr Adelle Thomas, Vice Chair of the IPCC Working Group II.
The second Lead Author Meeting provides the report’s authors with the opportunity to discuss and refine the initial drafts of their chapters, strengthen cross-chapter integration and advance the scientific assessment aimed at supporting policymakers around the world in shaping action on climate impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
The drafting process for this report has been underway since the First Lead Author Meeting in Paris, France in December 2025. Selected authors have been developing the report based on the outline agreed by the 195-member government Panel during its 63rd Plenary Session held in Hangzhou, China in February 2025.
Following this Second Lead Author Meeting, the authors will develop the First-Order Draft which will be open for experts around the world to review and comment on.
For interview requests with the IPCC experts participating in this meeting, please contact Woo Qiyun, Senior Communications Manager, IPCC Working Group II Technical Support Unit, media@ipccwg2.org.
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, 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 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).
At the Panel’s most recent Plenary Session in Lima, Peru, in October 2025, member governments agreed on the scientific content of the 2027 Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage. There, the Panel also agreed on the 2026 workplan for the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report.
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.
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.
For more information visit www.ipcc.ch.
About Working Group II
The IPCC Working Group II contribution to the Seventh Assessment Report focuses on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. The current approved outline of the report details 20 chapters, including an update to the Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation (TGIA).
For more information and to access the agreed outline of the Working Group II report, visit www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg2/.