UN Climate Talks End in Deadlock Over Next IPCC Report

BANGKOK, March 3 (Alliance News): A crucial UN meeting in China ended in deadlock over the timing of the next major climate assessment, as disagreements between nations stalled progress.

The absence of US envoys further overshadowed the talks, which extended beyond schedule but failed to set a definitive deadline for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Wealthy and climate-vulnerable nations pushed for an accelerated timeline to ensure that policymakers had the latest scientific data before the 2028 UN “stocktake.

” However, opposition from oil-producing countries and major emitters like China and India stalled the decision.

Greenpeace East Asia’s policy advisor, Zhe Yao, called the outcome a “bitter disappointment,” warning that delays only benefit those seeking to slow climate action.

Scientists and UN officials had urged urgency, citing record-breaking global temperatures and growing climate risks.

The deadlock follows the COP28 summit’s historic call to transition away from fossil fuels and the IPCC’s warning that the world is on track to surpass the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C threshold by the early 2030s. Some studies even suggest this could happen before the end of the decade.