October 27, 2026

expert reaction to reports some countries have delayed approving the IPCC budget

Scientists react to reports that some countries have delayed approving the IPCC budget.

Professor Ian Hall, Research Professor in Paleoclimate and Climate Systems at Cardiff University, said:

“For decades, some fossil fuel companies and industry groups have sought to delay climate policies while the evidence for human-driven climate change has become overwhelming. Another delay may benefit those with a stake in maintaining the status quo, but it does nothing to change the reality that global emissions must fall rapidly if future climate risks are to be limited.

“The climate system does not wait for political decisions. Greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere regardless of political pressure, public relations campaigns or budget delays. Scientific reality is uncompromising: every year of delay shrinks the remaining carbon budget, increases climate risks, and leaves a steeper challenge for future generations.”

Prof David Lee, Professor of Atmospheric Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, and IPCC Lead Author for Special Report, GHG Guidance, AR4, AR5, AR6, reviewer AR7, said:

“This is such a blatant political move to prevent the IPCC reporting before the Global Stocktake, and the IPCC is no place for such political manoeuvring since the outputs are in humanity’s interest.”

 Prof Richard Allan, University of Reading and IPCC lead author, said:

“This is a serious situation but as an IPCC working group 1 author the work goes on with many dedicated colleagues in developing the best assessment of the physical science of climate change to provide policymakers with the most up to date and relevant information for decisions affecting all our societies and the ecosystems we depend upon.”

Prof Heiko Balzter, Director of the Institute for Environmental Futures at the University of Leicester, said:

“The failure to commit to a budget to carry on with the important work of the IPCC to bring together a world consensus on the science of climate change is devastating. Each year that we lose in the fight against climate change will make things worse for millions of people around the world, especially in low and middle-income countries which do not have the means to adapt to increasingly extreme weather.”

Prof Daniela Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, and former IPCC coordinating lead author, said:

“The IPCC process is a unique endeavour of academics and practitioners to draw together the best knowledge we have on climate change, its impacts, how we adapt and mitigation. Not signing off a budget puts all this international work at risk.

“Pushing the delivery to a later date impacts independent authoritative voices in the discussions around the global stocktake, the taking stock of how much nation states have done to reduce emissions and hence future impacts of climate change. Countries deeply affected already today such as Small Island states, urge for a rapid release.

“Climate change is moving fast; delaying reports will not reduce the change, only buy time for those who do not want to implement change. The IPCC has always worked by unanimous agreement. Maybe it is time to declare that most agree and who blocks.”

Declared interests

The nature of this story means everyone quoted above could be perceived to have a stake in it. As such, our policy is not to ask for interests to be declared – instead, they are implicit in each person’s affiliation.

* https://www.ft.com/content/f326afa1-962d-4a4e-b24f-f8695fa315d1?syn-25a6b1a6=1