QUNO Geneva’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme, speaking on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation, took part in the 61st Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 27th of July to 2nd of August.  Our FWCC interventions and the IPCC Meeting summary are available to read here. 

At this session, the panel had to decide on the programme of work for the 7th Assessment Cycle (AR7) and approve outlines of two IPCC products: the Methodology Report on Short Lived Climate Forcers and the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.

Since 2017, QUNO has been the only independent faith-based observer at the IPCC. At this session, QUNO made interventions to raise concerns over the failure to include military emissions in greenhouse gas inventory and the dangerous reliance on speculative technologies such as large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over transformation of root causes. QUNO also highlighted the need to ensure inclusivity and transparency, to uphold the integrity of science in the upcoming cycle, to focus on protecting the most vulnerable, and for discussions of the ‘cost’ of inaction to include cost to human lives and not just economic.

By the end of the session, the IPCC approved the two outlines for further work and delayed the decision on the programme of work to the next plenary session in late February of 2025.

In addition to advocacy at negotiations, QUNO also works to communicate IPCC findings to wider audiences to help empower urgent, transformative and equitable climate action.  The latest related QUNO publications include a toolkit for Government Officials and a personal guide on what we can do. Both are available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.  

Photo by IISD/ENB | Anastasia Rodopoulou