IPCC Session Suspended in Addis Ababa Without a Deal on Report Timeline

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suspended its meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, October 16, 2026, without agreeing when its next round of climate science reports will be published. Reuters reported that the meeting of the panel, known as the IPCC, ended without a deal on the timeline, citing four sources familiar with the matter.

In its own statement, the IPCC said Chair Jim Skea suspended the 65th Plenary Session on Friday night after the meeting ran past its planned duration and many delegations from least developed countries and small island developing states had to leave. The panel said the decision protected the inclusive way it works, because its big decisions are taken by consensus.

What was left undecided

Two items stayed open. The first is the timeline for the three Working Group reports that make up the Seventh Assessment Report, known as AR7. The second is the IPCC budget. Both remain under discussion, the panel said, and the suspended session will resume at the earliest opportunity. No date for that resumption was given.

Representatives of the panel's 195 member states took part in the Addis Ababa session. It was seen by many as the last chance to set publication dates that fall before the United Nations climate talks in November 2028. At those talks, governments are due to assess progress toward the goals set in the 2015 Paris agreement.

A three year deadlock

The argument over dates has lasted nearly three years. Reuters reported that the delay could leave countries to take the next round of climate decisions without agreed science on central questions, including how far some global warming can be reversed.

A coalition of about 30 countries, drawn from Europe, Latin America and small island states, has pushed for the reports to be finished in time for the 2028 talks and warned they may not be ready. On the other side, countries including India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China have pressed for more time, so that scientists from countries with fewer resources can take a full part in preparing the reports, Reuters reported.

Why the reports carry weight

The IPCC is the United Nations body that assesses the science of climate change. Its reports are written by hundreds of experts and approved by every member state. Governments use them to plan policy, and courts have cited them in rulings.

The seventh assessment cycle formally began in July 2023, when Jim Skea was elected chair at a session in Nairobi. At the 62nd session in Hangzhou, China, in February 2025, governments agreed the outlines of the three Working Group reports. The final synthesis report for this cycle is due by late 2029, after the Working Group reports are done.

The last full set, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023. It fed into the first global stocktake under the Paris agreement, held at COP28 in Dubai. Whether the new reports can play the same part in 2028 now depends on when the suspended session resumes and whether governments can close the gap on dates.