The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has achieved many successes. In its 35 years, the UN body has become the most authoritative global source of knowledge on climate breakdown. Politicians, policymakers and social movements from around the world draw on its reports and data to frame the problem of the climate emergency and to envisage solutions.
But as climate politics has become more complex, more diverse and more pressing, the IPCC is increasingly called upon to fulfil roles not envisaged at its creation – and to which it is not well suited. As it moves into its seventh assessment cycle and with the election of a new chair, the British climate scientist Prof Jim Skea, the time is right for a reassessment of its role and function.
