By Sudarshan Varadhan
Oct 16 (Reuters) – A meeting of the members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was suspended without an agreement on a timeline to publish its next review of the latest science on the warming planet, the IPCC said on Friday.
The impasse over the timeline, which has lasted nearly three years, could leave countries to decide the next phase of climate action without consensus on critical issues, including the extent to which some global warming might be reversible.
The meeting was suspended after it ran over its planned duration on the last day and many delegations from least-developed countries and small island states had to leave, the IPCC said in a statement.
Agreeing publication dates for its next review of the latest science was the main agenda of the IPCC meeting of 195 member states in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this week. Governments are set to assess progress toward goals set in the 2015 Paris agreement at the UN climate talks in November 2028, in a so-called “Global Stocktake”.
The discussions on the review timeline and the IPCC budget “remain open,” and the panel’s deliberations will resume at the earliest opportunity, the IPCC said, without providing details.
The possibility that the IPCC’s reports might not be ready in time for the 2028 climate talks has alarmed a coalition of 30 countries, including European, Latin American and small-island states pushing for immediate action.
However, countries including India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China are pressing for more time to prepare the IPCC’s next reports to ensure scientists from less-resourced countries can make meaningful contributions.
“We were here to work, but found every proposal dismissed — on inclusivity, on the relevance of the science for our national planning, on the necessity of evidence to inform the next Global Stocktake,” said Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands.
“Progress was blocked, down to the end — a shameful play for time when there is no time to waste.”
The IPCC’s reviews carry weight as they are written by hundreds of international experts and approved by every member state, and are used by governments to plan responses to climate change and cited in international court rulings.
The UN Environment Programme has said repeatedly that global efforts to limit warming are falling short and that deeper emissions cuts are needed to avoid climate-related disasters.
(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Nia Williams)
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