Fight over climate science intensifies at COP31

Detailed summary

The European Union yesterday vowed to “fight” for science at the UN climate summit after accusing some countries of seeking to undermine the world’s leading authority on global…

The European Union yesterday vowed to “fight” for science at the UN climate summit after accusing some countries of seeking to undermine the world’s leading authority on global warming.

A long-running disagreement over when to publish the next major reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is spilling into the COP31 talks in Turkey, threatening to complicate negotiations toward a final deal.

The EU and dozens of other nations want the next set of IPCC reports available before a crucial stocktake of global efforts to cut planet-heating emissions at the 2028 edition of the annual climate summit.

Saudi Arabia, China and India are among those pushing for the IPCC’s “seventh assessment report” to be delayed until 2029.

The IPCC is deadlocked over the timetable, but some countries want the matter put on the table in Turkey, where negotiations are approaching the midway point.

“We will fight for this outcome to be there,” senior EU climate official Diana Acconcia told reporters, cautioning it would “not be so easy” to bridge the gulf on the issue.

“There are some parties that are trying to undermine what science is telling us because they don’t want to do what it takes to address climate change,” Acconcia said.

“It is as simple as that,” she added, lamenting the “polarised” nature of the debate.

The IPCC publishes a series of reports every seven years that provide the definitive scientific assessment of climate change and inform global policy responses to the crisis.

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