France Warns Against Attempts to Delay IPCC Reports Beyond 2028 Deadline
France raises concerns over attempts to push IPCC report publications past 2028, jeopardizing the Paris Agreement global stocktake, as the WMO records 2015-2025 as the hottest decade ever measured.
| Sectors | Energy Issues, Climate |
|---|---|
| Themes | Policy & Geopolitics, Diplomacy |
| Countries | France, Thailand, Brazil |
France raised serious concerns at the closing of the 64th plenary session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Bangkok, denouncing attempts to arbitrarily delay the publication of key scientific reports beyond 2028. These maneuvers aim to push certain publications past the deadline for the second global stocktake of the Paris Agreement. As pressure mounts on multilateral energy and climate institutions, the IEA recently launched an energy policy tracker to monitor government responses in real time. Paris argues that any delay in incorporating IPCC scientific data would seriously undermine global climate action.
2015-2025: The Hottest Decade on Record
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published a report this week indicating that the global average temperature exceeded pre-industrial levels by 1.43°C over the 2015-2025 period, making it the hottest decade ever recorded. Heat accumulating in the oceans has driven a surge in marine heat waves. Sea levels have risen 11 cm since measurements began, according to the same report. These figures illustrate, according to Paris, a deepening and accelerating climate crisis.
The IPCC: Cornerstone of Climate Multilateralism
France underlines the central role of the IPCC in the international climate legal architecture. The panel's work enabled the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and the Paris Agreement in 2015. At COP30 held in Belém in November 2025, all Parties reaffirmed this commitment in a political decision recognizing the IPCC as the source of the "best available scientific data" to guide climate action. In December 2025, France hosted the IPCC's 664 authors in Paris, reaffirming its support for science-based multilateral governance.
Paris Rallies the EU and Its Partners
In coordination with the European Union and its partners, France intends to defend evidence-based climate policy in the face of what it describes as a worrying rise in climate disinformation. Monique Barbut, Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Climate and Nature Negotiations, stated that "the IPCC is the cornerstone of the Paris Agreement cycle." The minister recalled that the 2015 Agreement was built on a commitment to ground the global stocktake in IPCC reports. She warned that Parties will be unable to make the necessary decisions at upcoming COPs if the 7th assessment report is not delivered on time.
