UN climate advisory panel not accelerating reports programme

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved a new six-year working programme in Istanbul Saturday with an "emphasis on adaptation to climate change" and conclusive synthesis report due by late 2029, it said in a statement.

The IPCC produces comprehensive scientific assessment reports to inform governments on their climate policies, which are published every five to seven years, with the sixth cycle having ended last year.

The new programme was adopted by "more than 300 delegates from 120 governments" on Saturday after four days of debates and one night of additional negotiations, reflecting challenges in reaching a consensus.

It follows previous models of releasing several voluminous intermediary reports capped off with a final synthesis.

Global emissions, which have not yet peaked, must fall by 43 percent between 2019 and 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial emissions, a target set by the 2016 Paris Agreement, according to the IPCC.

Like the previous reporting cycle, three working groups have been set out to investigate the physical science basis of climate change; adaptation and vulnerabilities of humanity and ecosystems; and solutions to limit global warming.

It will also produce an additional "Special Report on Climate Change and Cities" and another on the capture and storage of carbon dioxide.

In the current reporting cycle, "there is a notable emphasis on adaptation to climate change," said IPCC Chair Jim Skea.

It means the IPCC will establish new indicators and recommendations to measure adaptation efforts such as flood- and drought-resistance and protective infrastructure.

Many scientists and environmentalists were calling for more rapid reporting, to keep pace with the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to annual climate negotiations in this crucial decade.

The next such report will not be ready till 2029, too late to take in the second global assessment of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, which is due the previous year, the American NGO Union of Concerned Scientists lamented.

The first "global stocktake" at COP28 in Dubai in December produced a landmark call for the world to move away from fossil fuels, despite major concessions to oil and gas industry and producer countries.

Established in 1988, the IPCC does not conduct studies but synthesizes the academic consensus in all fields concerning climate change to produce the key scientific reference for global climate negotiations.