Overview
- The IPCC plenary in Addis Ababa closed Friday without a decision on publication dates for the Seventh Assessment Report after a week of talks ran past schedule and the session was suspended.
- Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, India and China, pushed to shift the report to 2029 to give less-resourced scientists and governments more time to take part.
- More than 30 ministers and a broad coalition of governments insisted on the scientists’ proposed 2028 timeline and criticized attempts to delay the report.
- IPCC chair Jim Skea warned the stalemate carries organisational and reputational consequences and stakeholders say the impasse could mean the report will not inform the UN global stocktake in November 2028.
- Negotiations remain open and campaigners are urging the panel to reconvene quickly; observers say the next steps to watch are when the IPCC sets a new meeting date and how member states reconcile inclusion concerns with the need for timely science.