IPCC experts meet in Rome to advance 2027 climate emissions report

More than 130 scientists from over 50 countries have gathered in Rome to push forward a major United Nations-backed report aimed at improving how countries track short-lived climate pollutants.

The meeting—hosted at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization—is the third Lead Author session for the 2027 methodology report on short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), a category of pollutants that significantly affect both air quality and near-term climate warming.

The report is being developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN’s leading scientific body on climate change, established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization.

Why it matters

Unlike carbon dioxide, short-lived climate forcers—such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide—remain in the atmosphere for shorter periods but have an outsized impact on warming and public health. Improving how countries measure and report these emissions is seen as critical to designing effective climate and air quality policies.

The 2027 report will provide updated global guidance on how governments compile emissions inventories for these pollutants, helping standardise reporting and improve data quality across countries.

Authors are currently finalising the second-order draft of the report, a key stage in the IPCC’s multi-year review process. The draft is scheduled for public and expert review between August 31 and October 25, 2026, before final adoption in 2027.

The outline for the report was approved during the IPCC’s 61st session in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2024.

Takeshi Enoki, co-chair of the IPCC task force overseeing the work, said the Rome meeting is critical to consolidating scientific and methodological approaches needed for a robust draft.

Mazhar Hayat, the task force’s co-chair, said the upcoming review phase will allow governments and experts to test the clarity and usefulness of the guidance before it is finalised.

The report is being prepared under the IPCC’s Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, with authors and editors selected in consultation with the panel’s working groups.