GENEVA, June 2 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be taking an active part in the upcoming 58th session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Set in Bonn from 5 to 15 June, the meeting is also known as the Bonn Climate Conference.   

On the first day of the conference, the recently released Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report will be presented by the IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee at a Special Event of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) starting at 15.00. Earlier that day, the IPCC Secretary Abdallah Mokssit will address the opening plenary of the 58th Session of SBSTA. 

Throughout the conference, the IPCC will focus on delivering the main findings of the Synthesis Report and of the entire sixth assessment cycle. These efforts will also include contributions to the Global Stocktake Technical Dialogues taking place during the conference. The Technical Dialogues are a prelude to the first Global Stocktake scheduled to take place at this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP28) meetings in Dubai in December. They are scheduled to start at 10.00 am on 6 June and will run till 13 June.

An in-session workshop on common metrics, scheduled to start at 10.00 am on 7 June, will also be addressed by the IPCC Chair. Objectives of the workshop include dissemination of the key findings on emission metrics in IPCC´s Sixth Assessment Report and identification of the benefits and shortcomings of the use of different metrics.

Experts from all three Working Groups of the IPCC will deliver vital contributions through the Research Dialogue scheduled to kick-off on 8 June.

The IPCC will also host two side events. On 6 June IPCC’s Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) together with the Secretariat of the UNFCCC will present the new version of the IPCC Inventory Software. The software works with the UNFCCC reporting tool for Common Reporting Tables of national greenhouse gas inventories. The TFI will have a dedicated space providing an opportunity to learn about its activities, including the demonstration and testing of the new generation of inventory software, and the work of the IPCC in general.

On 9 June the IPCC will host a side event on the use of scenarios in the Sixth Assessment Report and future assessments. The event will unpack the outcomes and recommendations of the related IPCC scientific workshop held in April this year.

IPCC experts will also be taking part in other side events and activities.

Further details about the events in this media advisory and other activities with IPCC involvement, including how to follow the relevant livestreams, will be shared here.

For interview requests, please email ipcc-media@wmo.int.

For more information contact:
IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516 or Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120

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 that would 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 and the Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023.

The Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report, distills and integrates the findings of the three Working Group assessments as well as the three Special Reports released in 2018 and 2019.

The IPCC also publishes special reports on more specific issues between assessment reports.

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 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.  

IPCC’s Working Group II is pleased to announce that the HTML version of its contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (WGII AR6) Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability was launched on 4 April 2023 on the Working Group II AR6 microsite

This online version includes the 18 Chapters and 7 Cross-Chapter Papers of the report as well as the Summary for Policymakers, Technical Summary and Annex I: Global to Regional Atlas

The HTML version increases the accessibility of the report by providing readers with an easily explorable online version that includes expandable sections, direct links to the figures and tables that are cross-referenced. The Summary for Policymakers includes direct links to the underlying sections of the Working Group II AR6 where the full assessments can be found. Furthermore, each individual literature citation within the report is linked to its full reference, enabling users to quickly trace the underlying publications. The linking within the online version of the report will continue to expand. 

The Final Draft of the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report has been available in PDF format since its release on 28 February 2022. The copyedited report in its final layout, along with the formal drafts, the review comments and author team responses, were published on the website on 3 August. We are now pleased to provide the HTML version of the report.

It is with great sadness that the IPCC learned about the passing of a former colleague Ms. Annie Courtin on 11 March 2023.

Annie worked as a Senior Secretary responsible for travel at the IPCC Secretariat from 1997 till 2020 when she retired. She had worked in the UN system in Geneva since 1990 with the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the International Trade Center/World Trade Center among others.

“Annie was one of the first people I encountered in IPCC. She was a dear and caring colleague, always with a warm smile and ready to support the work of the Panel, IPCC’s authors and Bureau members as well as everyone at the Secretariat”, said IPCC Secretary Abdalah Mokssit

“Her kind and loving spirit will live on through her children and the lives of the people she touched through her work,” he added.

Ms. Courtin is survived by her husband, two daughters, and a grandchild.

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, March 20, 2023 — There are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change, and they are available now, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today.

“Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages for nature and people, it will also provide wider benefits,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. “This Synthesis Report underscores the urgency of taking more ambitious action and shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all.”

In 2018, IPCC highlighted the unprecedented scale of the challenge required to keep warming to 1.5°C. Five years later, that challenge has become even greater due to a continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions.  The pace and scale of what has been done so far, and current plans, are insufficient to tackle climate change.

More than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use has led to global warming of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. This has resulted in more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world.

Every increment of warming results in rapidly escalating hazards. More intense heatwaves, heavier rainfall and other weather extremes further increase risks for human health and ecosystems. In every region, people are dying from extreme heat. Climate-driven food and water insecurity is expected to increase with increased warming. When the risks combine with other adverse events, such as pandemics or conflicts, they become even more difficult to manage.

Losses and damages in sharp focus

The report, approved during a week-long session in Interlaken, brings in to sharp focus the losses and damages we are already experiencing and will continue into the future, hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems especially hard. Taking the right action now could result in the transformational change essential for a sustainable, equitable world.

“Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected,” said Aditi Mukherji, one of the 93 authors of this Synthesis Report, the closing chapter of the Panel’s sixth assessment.

“Almost half of the world’s population lives in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change. In the last decade, deaths from floods, droughts and storms were 15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions,“ she added.

In this decade, accelerated action to adapt to climate change is essential to close the gap between existing adaptation and what is needed. Meanwhile, keeping warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors. Emissions should be decreasing by now and will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C.

Clear way ahead

The solution lies in climate resilient development. This involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits.

For example: access to clean energy and technologies improves health, especially for women and children; low-carbon electrification, walking, cycling and public transport enhance air quality, improve health, employment opportunities and deliver equity. The economic benefits for people’s health from air quality improvements alone would be roughly the same, or possibly even larger than the costs of reducing or avoiding emissions.

Climate resilient development becomes progressively more challenging with every increment of warming. This is why the choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and that of generations to come.

To be effective, these choices need to be rooted in our diverse values, worldviews and knowledges, including scientific knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge and local knowledge. This approach will facilitate climate resilient development and allow locally appropriate, socially acceptable solutions. 

“The greatest gains in wellbeing could come from prioritizing climate risk reduction for low-income and marginalised communities, including people living in informal settlements,” said Christopher Trisos, one of the report’s authors. “Accelerated climate action will only come about if there is a many-fold increase in finance. Insufficient and misaligned finance is holding back progress.”

Enabling sustainable development

There is sufficient global capital to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions if existing barriers are reduced. Increasing finance to climate investments is important to achieve global climate goals. Governments, through public funding and clear signals to investors, are key in reducing these barriers. Investors, central banks and financial regulators can also play their part.

There are tried and tested policy measures that can work to achieve deep emissions reductions and climate resilience if they are scaled up and applied more widely. Political commitment, coordinated policies, international cooperation, ecosystem stewardship and inclusive governance are all important for effective and equitable climate action.

If technology, know-how and suitable policy measures are shared, and adequate finance is made available now, every community can reduce or avoid carbon-intensive consumption. At the same time, with significant investment in adaptation, we can avert rising risks, especially for vulnerable groups and regions.

Climate, ecosystems and society are interconnected. Effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30-50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean will help ensure a healthy planet. Urban areas offer a global scale opportunity for ambitious climate action that contributes to sustainable development.

Changes in the food sector, electricity, transport, industry, buildings and land-use can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, they can make it easier for people to lead low-carbon lifestyles, which will also improve health and wellbeing. A better understanding of the consequences of overconsumption can help people make more informed choices.

“Transformational changes are more likely to succeed where there is trust, where everyone works together to prioritise risk reduction, and where benefits and burdens are shared equitably,” Lee said. “We live in a diverse world in which everyone has different responsibilities and different opportunities to bring about change. Some can do a lot while others will need support to help them manage the change.”

###

Temperature-Scale Equivalents
1.1C = 2.0F
1.5C = 2.7F

For more information, please contact:
IPCC Press Office: ipcc-media@wmo.int
Lance Ignon, SYR Communications Specialist: ignon@ipcc-syr.org

Notes to editors

AR6 Synthesis Report in Numbers

Review comments: 6841

Core Writing Team members: 49 
Review Editors: 9
Extended Writing Team Authors: 7
Contributing Authors: 28
Women: 41
Men: 52
Developing Country Authors: 37
Developed Country Authors: 56

About the IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments about climate change. The IPCC has 195 member states that are members of the UN or WMO.

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. An open and transparent review by experts and member governments is an essential part of the IPCC process to ensure an objective and complete assessment and to reflect a diverse range of views and expertise.

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

IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information 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 to guarantee accuracy, objectivity and transparency.

About the Sixth Assessment Cycle

The IPCC publishes comprehensive scientific assessments every six to seven years. The previous one, the Fifth Assessment Report, was completed in 2014 and provided the main scientific input to The Paris Agreement.

At its 41nd 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, which is composed of the IPCC Chair, the IPCC Vice-Chairs, the Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Working Groups, and the Co-Chairs of the Task Force. At its 43rd Session in April 2016, the IPCC decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report and AR6.

The Working Group I contribution to AR6, 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 also published the following special reports on more specific issues during the Sixth Assessment Cycle:

Global Warming of 1.5°C (2.7°F) in October 2018;
Climate Change and Land in August 2019; and
Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate in September 2019

In May 2019, the IPCC released the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

For more information, please visit www.ipcc.ch. Most videos published by the IPCC can be found on its YouTube channel.

14.00 CET on 20 March 2023

INTERLAKEN (SWITZERLAND), March 18 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will hold a hybrid press conference to present the Summary for Policymakers of Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report, subject to approval by the Panel. The press conference is scheduled to start at 14.00 CET (13.00 GMT) on Monday, 20 March 2023.

It will follow the closure of the 58th Session of the IPCC that began on 13 March. The meeting is considering the Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report (Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report). The Synthesis Report – the final installment of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report – integrates and summarizes the findings of the six reports released by IPCC during the current cycle which began in 2015. This includes three Special Reports and the three IPCC Working Group contributions to the Sixth Assessment Report.

The press conference will be streamed live on the IPCC YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/SYRPRcfe.

It will also be streamed live on UN Web TV.

Accredited journalists will receive e-mail alerts about embargo materials once they are available and details on how to submit questions for the speakers at the press conference.

Note for reporters and editors:

All IPCC press materials are strictly embargoed until 14.00 CET (Interlaken time) on 20 March 2023.

This means no use, no coverage, publication, printing, or posting on any media and digital platform (broadcast, print, online, social, etc.) before the embargo is lifted at 14.00 CET (13.00 GMT) on  20 March 2023.

For more information contact:

Email: media@ipcc.ch  
Andrej Mahecic, + 41 79 704 2459, Werani Zabula, + 41 22 730 8120

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. 

***

It is with great sadness that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has learned of the passing of one of its authors, Professor Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, on 6 February 2023.

She was one of the Lead Authors of Chapter 6 on Short-lived Climate Forcers of the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). This was the first time a Working Group I report had a dedicated chapter on short-lived climate forcers. Astrid also co-led the Cross Chapter Box on the Implications of COVID-19 restrictions on emissions, air quality and climate – an impressive undertaking to assess scientific literature of a pandemic that had just occurred. 

She was the scientific director of the Institute for Tropospheric Research IEK-8, at Forschungszentrum Jülich and full professor at University Cologne since 2012. From 2021, she was the Chair of the German Climate Consortium, DKK. She was also a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project since 2022.

Astrid will be greatly missed by her colleagues in Working Group I and the international scientific community as a whole.

The Coordinating Lead Authors (CLAs) of Chapter 6, Sophie Szopa (France) and Vaishali Naik (USA), are devastated by the loss. They said “Astrid was very kind and supportive of the CLAs. When the final rush of the chapter production came, we relied on her leadership for parts of the chapter and the COVID Cross-Chapter Box. She was very generous, including working to produce important figures.” They are certain she would have inspired young researchers, particularly of her laboratory, for a very long time.

She studied physics at Innsbruck University in Austria and did her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany. Her research focused on atmospheric chemistry and the formation of secondary aerosols. A condolence page has been set up by her institute Forschungszentrum Jülich here.

GENEVA, March 15– The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has launched a call for applications for the seventh round of its scholarship awards. The call runs from 10 March to 2 April 2023.

Research proposals are encouraged from, but are not limited to, the following topics: living soils, biodiversity, regenerative viticulture, agroforestry, water management and terrestrial carbon cycle.

Each scholarship award is for a maximum amount of €15,000 per year for up to two years during the period 2023-2025.

Applicants should register via the application portal here: https://apps.ipcc.ch/scholarship/. The deadline is 2nd April 2023 at midnight CET.

The IPCC Scholarship Programme was established with the funds received from the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize award to the IPCC. The Programme was further made possible through the generous contribution of its funding partners, including the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Cuomo Foundation.

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

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, IPCC scientists volunteer their time 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 estimating emissions and removals of greenhouse gases.

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 the generous contribution of its funding partners. The first partner of the Programme was Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change. Other individuals and organizations have supported the programme over the years, including Aster Finance, Cheng Fa Qing, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele (Former IPCC Vice-Chair), Hoesung Lee (IPCC Chair, and former IPCC Vice-Chair), The AXA Research Fund, Dickinson College, The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and The Cuomo Foundation.

Thirty-three students students from developing countries and countries with economies in transition were awarded IPCC scholarships in the sixth round (2021-2023). Since the first awards in 2011 a total of 88 students have been supported.

Follow the IPCC Scholarship Programme on Facebook

INTERLAKEN, March 13 –The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) began its meeting today to approve the Synthesis Report to the Sixth Assessment Report. The session, taking place in Interlaken, Switzerland, is scheduled to run until 17 March.

The Synthesis Report is the final instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. It integrates and summarises the findings of the six reports released by IPCC during the current cycle which began in 2015. This includes three Special Reports and the three IPCC Working Group contributions to the Sixth Assessment Report.

During this meeting, the IPCC will approve the Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report line by line. The panel will also adopt the longer report section by section.

“Once approved, the Synthesis Report, will become a fundamental policy document for shaping climate action in the remainder of this pivotal decade. For policymakers of today and tomorrow, a much-needed textbook for addressing climate change. Make no mistake, inaction and delays are not listed as options,” said the IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee opening the conference.

On behalf of the host country, Swiss Federal Councilor Albert Rösti welcomed over 650 delegates attending this IPCC plenary.

Video messages by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation Petteri Taalas, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell were also screened at the plenary.

Video messages and remarks are available here.

For more information, please contact:

IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo.int  

Andrej Mahecic, + 41 22 730 8066, Werani Zabula, + 41 22 730 8120, Nina Peeva, + 41 22 730 8142 and Melissa Walsh +41 22 730 8532.

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. 

Deadline closed. All inquiries should be sent to interviews@ipcc-ch.

GENEVA, March 08 – Authors and Bureau Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be available for media interviews following the conclusion of the press conference to present the Summary for Policymakers of Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report, the final instalment of the Sixth Assessment Report.

The hybrid press conference is scheduled for 14:00 CET on Monday 20 March 2023 at the Congress Kursaal Interlaken, Strandbadstrasse 44, Interlaken, Switzerland. It will also be streamed live and details on how to follow the livestream will be issued closer to the time.

The interviews are expected to take place from around 15:30 CET on 20 March.   

The deadline to submit requests was midnight CET on 16 March 2023. Remote interviews will be done via the various available video conferencing applications.

To register your request for an interview with one or more of the IPCC spokespeople, please start by clicking on “List of Authors” on the top left corner of the form to see the full list of experts available for interview (see the screenshot below). The list indicates the author’s nationality and main area of expertise.

Please proceed to complete all the fields in the Interview Request Form relevant to your interview so that we are able to process your request according to your needs. You can indicate a preferred interview topic and the IPCC media team will use this information to assign a relevant author for you to interview.

Some of the IPCC experts receive more requests than can be accommodated.  To accommodate as many interviews as possible on the day, the IPCC may also suggest an alternative interviewee, based on the needs specified when completing the Interview Request Form.

Please note that only interviews arranged via this process will be considered as confirmed for 20 and 21 March.

All interview requests should be submitted by 19:00 CET on 16 March 2023.

If your interview request cannot be met on 20 and 21 March, there will be further opportunities in the following days and weeks.

For information about the press conference including details of accreditation and access to embargo materials, please see this media advisory.

For more information contact:

Email: interviews@ipcc.ch 

Andrej Mahecic, + 41 22 730 8066, Werani Zabula, + 41 22 730 8120, and 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. 

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:

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:

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Graphical user interface, text, application, email

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

Graphical user interface, text, application, email

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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-