Why do India and China want more time for next UN climate report

The timing of the next major climate assessment is now a point of contention among countries, including India, China and Russia.An image of a power plant emitting gases into the atmosphere. (Representative Photo: Pexels)New Delhi,Oct 10, 2026 15:59 ISTThe world’s leading climate science body is facing an unprecedented deadlock over when to publish its next major assessment of global warming, raising concerns that governments could enter crucial climate negotiations without an up-to-date scientific picture of the crisis.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose assessments have informed every major United Nations climate agreement for three decades, has been debating the timeline for nearly three years.Representatives of its 195 member countries, including India, will meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, October 12, in what many see as their last chance to schedule the reports before UN climate talks in November 2028. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav during a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary-General on the sidelines of Pre-COP. (Photo: PTI) WHY IS THE IPCC CLIMATE REPORT IMPORTANT?Established in 1988 by the UN Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the IPCC reviews existing climate research to help governments understand global warming and decide how to respond. Its assessments, published every five to seven years, helped inform the 2015 Paris Agreement and its goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.The next assessment will comprise three reports. A cardboard protest sign with 'Eco Not Ego' message at a climate rally. (Photo: Pexels) Collectively, the three reports will focus on the causes and extent of climate change, its impacts and how countries can adapt, and ways to limit further warming.Scientists leading the work want all three approved by September 2028.Some countries, however, disagree on the deadline, demanding that the second and third reports be delayed until 2029, arguing that thousands of studies need time to be reviewed.WHY ARE COUNTRIES IN DISAGREEMENT?India, China, Kenya, Russia and Saudi Arabia are among those seeking more time, saying researchers in less-resourced countries need a fair opportunity to contribute.“If you have a process that goes very quickly, it wouldn't be inclusive,” Kenyan climate scientist Joyce Kimutai told news agency Reuters.India’s representative, Thiagarajan Jayaraman, called it “short-sighted” to judge the IPCC’s value only by whether its reports are ready for the 2028 talks, warning that “equity and inclusivity” are sometimes “simply ducked.” Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India, speaks during a session at COP30. (Photo: AP) Meanwhile, those on the other side of the table fear a delay would leave negotiators relying on reports from 2021 and 2022.The High Ambition Coalition (HAC), representing more than 30 countries, said access to the latest science supports a “just, equitable, evidence-based approach."Climate scientist Jozef Pecho warned that “the room for cherry-picking and distorting science would grow” without updated assessments.The debate has also turned political.“The elephant in the room is the politics,” Swedish IPCC editor Lisa Schipper, who described some countries’ approach as a “stalling tactic” told Reuters. People jogging in smog near Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. (Photo: Pexels) Russia called accusations that the debate was driven by oil producers a “deliberate misrepresentation” and warned against a “predetermined climate policy agenda”.China said it would take a constructive approach, while Belgian IPCC author Joeri Rogelj stressed: “The importance of the IPCC is that these authoritative assessments of science are being used.”The outcome will determine whether governments have the latest assessment in time to shape their next climate commitments.- Ends