Enviro News Asia, Bangkok — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change officially opened its 64th Plenary Session in Bangkok on 24 March 2026, bringing together nearly 300 delegates from member governments and observer organizations worldwide to advance work under its seventh assessment cycle.
The four-day session, hosted at United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, will run until 27 March 2026 and focus on strengthening the Panel’s operational framework and scientific outputs.
A key agenda item is the review of the principles and procedures guiding the IPCC’s work, which is conducted every five years to ensure the organization maintains its standards of neutrality, transparency, inclusiveness, and scientific rigor.
Chair of the IPCC, Jim Skea, urged member governments to take advantage of the session to enhance institutional effectiveness.
“The principles and procedures governing our work are vital in safeguarding IPCC’s ability to deliver comprehensive, neutral, objective, transparent, inclusive, and scientifically robust assessments,” Skea said during his opening remarks.
In addition to governance discussions, delegates will address funding strategies for the IPCC Trust Fund, review progress of the Task Group for Data Support for Climate Change Assessments, and consider applications from new observer organizations.
The Panel will also receive updates on various outputs under the seventh assessment cycle, including progress toward the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), scheduled for completion in 2029.
The cycle, which began in July 2023, will produce three Working Group reports, a synthesis report, and several specialized publications, including reports on climate change and cities, short-lived climate forcers, and carbon dioxide removal technologies.
Opening remarks were delivered by Thailand’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Raweewan Bhuridej, alongside contributions from Ko Barrett and video messages from Inger Andersen and Simon Stiell.
The session marks a critical step in shaping the scientific foundation for global climate policy and action in the coming years. (*)
