PATHUM, Sept 28 – Nearly 200 authors from 79 countries are gathered at the Asian Institute of Technology in Pathum, Thailand, from 28 September to 1 October to draft the Working Group III contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) on the mitigation of climate change. This is the second meeting of the Working Group III authors following the First Joint Lead Author Meeting of all Seventh Assessment Report authors, held in Paris in December 2025. ‘As policymakers around the world consider climate action, they have many questions about mitigation opportunities and challenges. This meeting brings together leading experts to assess the latest evidence on pathways, technologies and policies that can support effective and equitable emissions reductions. Our task is to provide policymakers with a clear and authoritative assessment of the options available to address climate change,’ said Joy Pereira, one of the Co-Chairs of IPCC Working Group III. The Second Lead Author Meeting allows the report’s authors to discuss and refine the initial drafts of their chapters, strengthen cross-chapter integration, and advance the scientific assessment to support policymakers worldwide. Working Group III assesses the scientific, technical and socio-economic literature related to mitigating climate change. The Working Group III contribution to AR7 will evaluate progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, assess mitigation pathways consistent with global climate goals, and examine mitigation opportunities across sectors including energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use. It will also assess the enabling conditions for climate action, including finance, technology, governance and international cooperation, as well as the links between mitigation, sustainable development, equity and just transitions. Following this meeting, the authors will develop the First-Order Draft, which will be open for review by experts from around the world. ‘The strength of the IPCC lies in its rigorous and transparent assessment process. The First-Order Draft review allows experts from around the world to contribute their knowledge and perspectives, helping ensure that the report reflects the breadth of available evidence and meets the highest scientific standards,’ said Kate Calvin, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III. IPCC reports undergo several review stages, first by experts and then by governments and experts. Experts who provide comments on the First-Order Draft will also be invited to review the Second-Order Draft. All expert reviewers will be acknowledged in the published report. For more information, contact: IPCC Press Office, Email: [email protected]; Andrej Mahecic, +41 22 730 8516; Werani Zabula, +41 22 730 8120. Notes for editors What is the IPCC? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In the same year, the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. Participation in the IPCC is open to all member countries of WMO and the United Nations (UN). Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, experts volunteer their time as IPCC authors to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks. The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals. IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency. About the Seventh Assessment Cycle Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 5 to 7 years. The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, which formally began in July 2023 with the elections of the new IPCC and Task Force Bureaus at the IPCC’s Plenary Session in Nairobi. At its first Plenary Session in the seventh assessment cycle – the 60th Plenary Session in Istanbul, Türkiye, in January 2024 – the Panel agreed to produce in this cycle the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), namely the Working Group I report on the Physical Science Basis, the Working Group II report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and the Working Group III report on Mitigation of Climate Change. The Synthesis Report of the Seventh Assessment Report will be produced after the completion of the Working Group reports and released by late 2029. During its 62nd Plenary Session held in Hangzhou, China, in February 2025, the Panel agreed on the outlines of the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7). At the Panel’s 63rd Plenary Session in Lima, Peru, in October 2025, member governments agreed on the scientific content of the 2027 Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage. There, the Panel also agreed on the 2026 workplan for the three Working Group contributions to the Seventh Assessment Report. The Panel decided already during the previous cycle to produce a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities and a Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers during AR7. At the IPCC’s 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed upon the outlines for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027 and for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers scheduled for publication in the second half of 2027. In addition, a revision of the 1994 IPCC Technical Guidelines on impacts and adaptation as well as adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product. IPCC’s latest report, the Sixth Assessment Report, was completed in March 2023 with the release of its Synthesis Report, which provided direct scientific input to the First Global Stocktake process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai. For more information, visit www.ipcc.ch.