Highlights and images for 4 April 2022

After two weeks of intensive work, the fourteenth session of Working Group III (WGIII-14) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reconvened on Monday morning to formally approve the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the WGIII contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) and accept the underlying assessment report. The IPCC, at its resumed 56th session, then approved the actions taken by WGIII.

During the IPCC-56 closing session, delegates expressed their thanks to the IPCC Secretariat, WGIII Co-Chairs, Technical Support Unit and interpreters for their tireless efforts to make the meeting a success. They also expressed gratitude to the authors who prepared the SPM and underlying report, praising their work to make the reports robust and scientifically accurate. Several delegates called for a return to in-person meetings, noting the technical and time zone challenges of virtual participation.

Many delegates deplored the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expressed their deep appreciation for the Ukrainian delegation to IPCC. In her closing statement, Ukraine stated that several members of her delegation were supporting her while sheltering underground and emphasized that the invasion “is a consequence in many senses of the use of fossil fuels. We do our work here in Ukraine for all humanity in the world."

IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee said the complexity of the subject and the passion of participants led WGIII-14 to take more time than envisaged, but the result is a strong, policy-relevant report that IPCC can stand behind. He thanked the 278 authors on the WGIII team, as well as the government delegates for their guidance and respect for the science, and said the conclusion of WGIII-14 marks the end of the “science trilogy” of AR6.

IPCC Secretary Abdalah Mokssit announced that IPCC-57 will take place in-person 26-30 September in Geneva, Switzerland to approve the SPM of the AR6 Synthesis Report.

The ENB summary and analysis of IPCC-56 will be available on this site on Thursday, 7 April 2022.