61st Session of the IPCC (IPCC-61)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been sounding the alarm on climate change for over three decades, putting out regular, comprehensive assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and adaptation and mitigation options. The IPCC’s assessment reports and special reports have also shaped critical moments of international climate collaboration under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

As the IPCC embarks on its seventh assessment cycle, its responsibilities are front and center. At its 61st session, delegates had to, in the words of IPCC Chair Jim Skea, “lay down the critically important building blocks” for the seventh assessment (AR7) cycle. Key tasks included reaching agreement on the outlines for a Special Report on Cities and Climate Change and a methodological report on short-lived climate forcers, as well as advancing work on the Strategic Planning Schedule for the entire seventh assessment cycle.

As many had expected, discussions were complex, with delegates sharing diverse and sometimes opposing views and priorities on key issues. Reconciling these preferences required intensive discussions and, in some cases, multiple rounds of revisions, but the Panel successfully reached consensus on the outlines of the two reports. The Panel had more difficulty finding a path to agreement on the Strategic Planning Schedule, however, and decided to defer further consideration to its next meeting. This decision disappointed many but is in line with the Principles and Procedures of the IPCC, as well as past practice.

With this agreement, the IPCC was able to conclude its meeting on schedule, a meaningful achievement that ensured that all delegations—particularly small delegations from developing countries, many of whom have missed out crucial discussions that took place when previous sessions significantly concluded late—were able to participate in full. Ending the meeting on schedule was an explicit goal of IPCC Chair Jim Skea, and it was an important step toward ensuring that the IPCC’s work is inclusive.

Calls for significant improvements in inclusivity threaded through the IPCC’s deliberations over the week, informing delegates’ perspectives on a wide range of issues from fundamentals—such as ensuring access to visas for experts and delegates—to high-level questions related to the timeline for delivery of the IPCC’s outputs for the seventh assessment cycle. While there was a clear consensus that enhancing inclusivity is a priority for the Panel, discussions revealed different perspectives on how best to achieve this crucial objective.

IPCC-61 convened in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July – 2 August 2024, with close to 400 participants. A pre-plenary briefing for delegates was held on 26 July.