During its 59th session, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) set the foundation for its seventh assessment cycle. During this meeting, the IPCC elected a new IPCC Bureau as well as a new Bureau for the Task Force on Greenhouse Gas Inventories. IPCC Bureau and Task Force members will serve throughout the seventh assessment cycle, completing their terms after the acceptance of the next Assessment Report. The seventh assessment cycle is expected to conclude around 2030, by which time the window for action to limit global warming to 1.5°C will likely have closed.

All members of the IPCC were invited to submit nominations for the IPCC Bureau and Task Force Bureau positions. Four nominations were received for the position of IPCC Chair, including veteran IPCC experts from Belgium, Brazil, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The curricula vitae of all nominees can be found here.

Established in 1988, the IPCC is made up of 195 governments that are members of the United Nations or the World Meteorological Organization. The Panel provides governments with scientific information that can be used to create climate policies and provides input into multilateral climate change negotiations. Since its inception, the Panel has prepared a series of comprehensive assessment reports and special reports that provide scientific information on climate change to the international community. Its reports are based on the work of thousands of experts who volunteer as IPCC authors. The sixth assessment report, which was accepted in March 2023, summarizes the state of knowledge on climate change, its impacts and risks, and possibilities for adaptation and mitigation. This summary report can be found here.

IPCC-59 convened in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25-28 July 2023.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting were Jessica Templeton, Ph.D.; Deborah Davenport, Ph.D.; and María Gutiérrez, Ph.D. The Photographer was Anastasia Rodopoulou. The Editor was Pam Chasek, Ph.D.