Climate politics is more complex and urgent than ever — is the IPCC still fit for purpose?

With solutions to the climate emergency desperately needed, political neutrality and consensus may no longer be an option

A man walks through the wreckage of a beachfront home following Hurricane Nicole in 2022, in Wilbur-By-The-Sea, Florida. In the context of continuing climate-related disasters, the IPCC must first look to see whether it remains fit for purpose, whether it serves policy and public needs, and whether it is receptive to meeting new challenges.

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.