IPCC meets in Addis Ababa amid deadlock over when to publish its next climate reports
Should the world's climate science arrive in time for the 2028 stocktake, or wait so poorer nations can be heard?
Published 13 October 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body that assesses climate science, opened its 65th plenary session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 12 October 2026 facing an unprecedented deadlock among its 195 member states over when to publish the three working group reports of its Seventh Assessment Report (AR7). The reports cover the physical science of climate change, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation. IPCC Chair Jim Skea acknowledged a "critical gap" on timing and urged governments to "spare no effort to find consensus and reach a decision".
The working group co-chairs have proposed approving all three reports by September 2028, in time to feed into the second global stocktake under the 2015 Paris Agreement, which concludes at the UN climate conference in November 2028. India, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kenya are among countries pushing for the second and third reports to come in 2029. They argue that scientists from less-resourced countries need more time to contribute and that a rushed review would not be inclusive. India's Thiagarajan Jayaraman called it "short-sighted" to suggest that the IPCC's value rests solely on feeding the 2028 talks. A High Ambition Coalition of more than 30 countries, including European, Latin American and small-island states, backs the 2028 timeline.
The dispute has stalled several earlier sessions, including those in Hangzhou, Lima and Bangkok, while governments agreed in 2024 that the AR7 Synthesis Report will come in 2029. Some countries pushing for earlier publication accuse major oil-producing nations of trying to avoid pressure to cut emissions faster; Russia called that framing a "deliberate misrepresentation" and argued that tying the schedule to UN talks threatens the IPCC's independence. Without new reports by 2028, negotiators would rely on assessments from 2021-22, even though questions such as 'overshoot' of the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal and how far warming can be reversed have since become urgent. The United States, the IPCC's biggest funder, announced its withdrawal from the body in January 2026.
Prelims facts
- The IPCC's 65th session opened in Addis Ababa on 12 October 2026 with its 195 member states deadlocked over the timing of the AR7 working group reports.
- The co-chairs propose approving all three working group reports by September 2028, in time for the second global stocktake that concludes in November 2028.
- India, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kenya want the second and third reports in 2029, citing the need for developing-country participation.
- The AR7 Synthesis Report is already agreed for 2029; a special report on climate change and cities is due in 2027.
- The IPCC was set up in 1988 by the WMO and UNEP and is chaired by Jim Skea.
Quick recall
- Where and when did the 65th IPCC session open?
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 12 October 2026.
- How many member states does the IPCC have?
- 195.
- Who set up the IPCC and when?
- WMO and UNEP, in 1988.
- Who chairs the IPCC?
- Jim Skea.
- Subject of IPCC Working Group III?
- Mitigation of climate change.
- When is the AR7 Synthesis Report due?
- 2029 (agreed in January 2024).
- When does the second global stocktake conclude?
- November 2028.
- Which countries pushed for the AR7 working group II and III reports in 2029?
- Among others, India, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kenya.
Prelims practice question
With reference to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), consider the following statements:
1. It was established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.
2. It conducts original climate research through its own laboratories.
3. Its Working Group II deals with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only. 1 is correct: WMO and UNEP set up the IPCC in 1988. 2 is wrong: the IPCC does not do its own research; volunteer scientists assess published literature. 3 is correct.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Climate science, global climate governance and India's position
- How to use this
Use India's push for a slower IPCC timeline to show how India defends equity and developing-country voice in global climate fora.
- At the IPCC's 65th session (Addis Ababa, October 2026), India, China, Kenya and others sought 2029 for two AR7 reports to include developing-country scientists.
- India called it short-sighted to value the IPCC only for feeding the 2028 global stocktake, an argument rooted in CBDR-RC.
- A High Ambition Coalition of 30-plus countries backs 2028, showing the geopolitics of climate science.
This IPCC question is about sea-level impacts, which the timeline dispute does not address.
Tests Paris Agreement basics; the global stocktake in this story is one of the Agreement's key mechanisms.
Mains practice question
The deadlock over the timeline of the IPCC's Seventh Assessment Report reflects a deeper tension between urgency and equity in global climate governance. Discuss, with reference to India's position. (150 words)
Model answer
The IPCC's 65th session in Addis Ababa (October 2026) opened with 195 members still unable to agree when to publish the AR7 working group reports, exposing a clash between speed and fairness.
The urgency argument
- Co-chairs propose approval of all three reports by September 2028, in time to inform the second global stocktake, which concludes in November 2028.
- Otherwise negotiators rely on 2021-22 science, though warming averaged above 1.5 degrees Celsius in 2024.
- A High Ambition Coalition of 30-plus countries backs 2028.
The equity argument (India's view)
- India, China, Kenya and others want the impacts and mitigation reports in 2029 so developing-country scientists can contribute.
- India calls it short-sighted to value the IPCC only for the 2028 talks; it reflects the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
Way forward
- Funding and fellowships for Global South authors, phased outputs, and keeping science independent of negotiating calendars.
Credible science must be both timely and inclusive.
The basics
Why this matters
Every big climate deal of the past three decades has leaned on IPCC science. The panel's reports tell governments how much the planet has warmed, why, what it will cost and what can be done. If the next reports miss the 2028 global stocktake, the world's main review of the Paris Agreement would run on science that is six or seven years old. If they are rushed, voices from poorer countries may be left out. For UPSC, this is a clean case study in climate governance, equity and India's diplomacy.
What the IPCC is
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It does not run laboratories. Thousands of volunteer scientists assess published research, and governments approve the summaries line by line, by consensus.
- 1Working Group IThe physical science: how much and why the climate is changing
- 2Working Group IIImpacts, adaptation and vulnerability
- 3Working Group IIIMitigation: options to cut emissions
- 4Synthesis ReportCombines the three; agreed for 2029
- 5Special Report on citiesClimate change and cities, due in 2027
More in IPCC working groups and assessment cycles.
Why 2028 is the pressure point
The Paris Agreement requires a Global stocktake every five years to measure collective progress. The second one concludes in November 2028. Its findings shape the next round of national climate targets.
- 1988WMO and UNEP set up the IPCC
- 2015Paris Agreement adopted, with five-yearly global stocktakes
- 2023First global stocktake concludes; AR7 cycle begins in Nairobi
- January 2024Governments agree the AR7 Synthesis Report for 2029
- 12 October 202665th IPCC session opens in Addis Ababa, still deadlocked
- November 2028Second global stocktake concludes
Two sides of the deadlock
- Proposed by the working group co-chairs
- Backed by a High Ambition Coalition of 30-plus countries
- Science would inform the 2028 stocktake directly
- Pushed by India, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kenya
- More time for scientists from less-resourced countries
- Argue IPCC value is not only feeding UN talks
India's stand draws on Common but differentiated responsibilities: those who grew rich on fossil fuels should cut most, and science must reflect developing-country realities. Critics reply that delay suits large oil producers. Both sides claim to defend the IPCC's credibility.
Go deeper
In one line: The UN's climate science panel opened talks in Addis Ababa on 12 October 2026 still split over whether its next major reports should arrive by 2028 or slip to 2029.
Why it matters for UPSC
Prelims asks about the IPCC, its working groups and the Paris Agreement. Mains GS2 and GS3 ask about India's climate diplomacy and global institutions. This dispute shows how science, equity and geopolitics mix.
The core idea
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produces assessment reports in cycles, each with three working groups (see IPCC working groups and assessment cycles). The Paris Agreement's Global stocktake uses this science to judge progress. The co-chairs want all three AR7 reports approved by September 2028, before the second stocktake ends. India and others say a rushed process shuts out developing-country scientists, an argument rooted in Common but differentiated responsibilities. Because the IPCC works by consensus, a few countries can hold up a decision.
Numbers and dates to remember
- 65th IPCC session: opened 12 October 2026, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- Members: 195 states. Chair: Jim Skea.
- Co-chairs' plan: all three working group reports approved by September 2028.
- Second global stocktake concludes: November 2028.
- AR7 Synthesis Report: 2029 (agreed January 2024). Special report on cities: 2027.
- US announced withdrawal from the IPCC: January 2026.
Where to go next
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: what the body is and how it decides.
- IPCC working groups and assessment cycles: the three reports and their history.
- Global stocktake: the Paris review the reports are meant to feed.
- Common but differentiated responsibilities: the principle behind India's position.
Go deeper: speed versus voice in climate science
For a 2028 timeline. The Global stocktake is the Paris Agreement's main accountability tool, and its results guide the next round of national targets and climate finance. Without new IPCC reports by 2028, negotiators would rely on assessments from 2021-22, though global temperatures averaged above 1.5 degrees Celsius in 2024 for the first time. A High Ambition Coalition of more than 30 countries says access to the best science is the basis of evidence-based policy, and 35 mostly European and small-island nations wrote on 9 October 2026 criticising "entrenched interests". Earlier cycles agreed their timelines quickly; this one has stalled across sessions in Hangzhou, Lima and Bangkok.
For more time. India, Kenya, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia argue that scientists in poorer countries struggle to publish in time or take unpaid leave for IPCC work, so a compressed schedule under-represents their regions. Kenya's Joyce Kimutai warned that a rushed process "wouldn't be inclusive". India's Thiagarajan Jayaraman called it "short-sighted" to tie the IPCC's value to the 2028 talks. Russia said linking the schedule to UN negotiations threatens the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's independence.
The suspicion. Some countries pushing for 2028 accuse major oil producers of trying to avoid pressure to cut emissions faster. India's own argument, based on Common but differentiated responsibilities, is different: it is about whose evidence counts.
Middle paths. Options floated in earlier sessions include extended review periods and phasing so that Working Group I arrives during the stocktake's technical phase and the other two inform its political phase (see IPCC working groups and assessment cycles). Funding Global South authors would address the equity concern without abandoning the deadline.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
What the body is and how it takes decisions.
In one line: The IPCC is the UN body that assesses the science of climate change for governments, without doing its own research.
Origin and structure
The IPCC was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme. It has 195 member states. Its current chair is Jim Skea. Its work is done by thousands of volunteer scientists who review published studies, organised into working groups and a task force on national greenhouse gas inventories.
How it decides
Governments meet in plenary sessions and take decisions by consensus. Summaries for Policymakers are approved line by line, which gives them political weight but also lets a few countries delay decisions, as in the current timeline dispute.
Why it is in the news
Its 65th session opened in Addis Ababa on 12 October 2026. The United States, its biggest funder, announced its withdrawal in January 2026.
Where to go next
IPCC working groups and assessment cycles
The three reports that make up each assessment.
In one line: Each IPCC assessment cycle produces three working group reports and a synthesis, published every five to seven years.
The three working groups
- Working Group I: the physical science basis, how much the climate has changed and why.
- Working Group II: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
- Working Group III: mitigation, the options to cut emissions.
A Synthesis Report brings them together. Special reports cover narrower topics.
The Seventh cycle (AR7)
AR7 began in July 2023 at the 59th session in Nairobi. In January 2024 governments agreed that the Synthesis Report will come in 2029, and a special report on climate change and cities is due in 2027. The timing of the three working group reports remains disputed: September 2028 under the co-chairs' plan, or 2029 for the second and third reports as some countries want.
Where to go next
Global stocktake
The Paris Agreement review that the reports are meant to feed.
In one line: The global stocktake is the Paris Agreement's five-yearly review of collective progress towards its long-term goals.
How it works
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries take stock every five years of where the world stands on mitigation, adaptation and finance. The outcome informs the next round of national climate pledges (Nationally Determined Contributions). The process runs in phases: information collection, technical assessment, and a final political phase.
The cycles
The first stocktake concluded in 2023 at COP28 in Dubai. The second concludes in November 2028; its information phase starts at COP31 in November 2026 and its technical phase runs from June 2027 to June 2028.
Why it is in the news
The UNFCCC invited the IPCC to align its work with the stocktakes. If AR7 reports arrive in 2029, the second stocktake would have to rely on older science.
Where to go next
Common but differentiated responsibilities
The equity principle behind India's position.
In one line: All countries share the duty to tackle climate change, but rich countries that caused most past emissions should do more, according to their capabilities.
Origin
The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) is written into the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Paris Agreement kept it, adding 'in the light of different national circumstances'.
How India uses it
India argues that countries which grew rich through fossil fuels should make the biggest cuts and provide finance and technology. In the IPCC timeline dispute, India extends the equity argument to science itself: developing-country researchers need time and resources so that assessments reflect their realities.
The counter-view
Critics say equity arguments can be used to delay action that vulnerable countries, such as small islands, urgently need.
Where to go next
Common but differentiated responsibilities: every story that connects to it (4)
Take the 13 October 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers