Deadlock over timetable for next set of IPCC climate reports

Expect the usual last-minute fudge. The US government being in open revolt against the whole human-caused warming concept must be an added drag on proceedings. Here the IPCC is billed as ‘the world’s leading authority on climate change’, but later we read that ‘The IPCC does not conduct original research’. Also their reports are converted into a ‘summary for policymakers’, which may or may not accurately (or at all, in some cases) reflect the contents of the actual reports. No wonder they’re still wrangling as much as ever after 30 editions of the COP conferences.
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The decision was expected to take minutes, says the Telegraph of India.

But after nearly three years of debate, members of the world’s leading authority on climate change still can’t agree on a timeline to publish its next review of the latest science on the warming planet.

Such assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have informed every major United Nations climate agreement for three decades.

But the impasse over publication dates could leave countries to decide the next phase of action without consensus on critical issues – including the extent to which some global warming might be reversible – according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former IPCC scientists, government negotiators and meeting observers.

The dispute reflects deep rifts between wealthy industrialized nations, major emerging economies and poorer nations over how to respond to rapidly warming temperatures and how much of that burden should be shouldered by different countries.
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The possibility the IPCC’s reports might not be ready in time for the 2028 climate talks has alarmed a coalition of countries pushing for more robust action. Those discussions are intended to guide decisions on climate financing and national targets to bring down greenhouse gas emissions.
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The IPCC does not conduct original research. But its reviews of the world’s existing knowledge on climate change – published every five to seven years – carry weight with governments because they are written by hundreds of international experts and approved by every member state.

Full article here.