Between July 25-28, 2023, during its 59th Session in Nairobi, Kenya, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) officially entered its Seventh Assessment Cycle (AR7). At the same meeting, members elected a new IPCC Bureau and a new Bureau of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
The IPCC Bureau consists of 34 members: the IPCC Chair, the IPCC Vice-Chairs, the Working Group Co-Chairs and Vice-Chairs, and the Co-Chairs of the Task Force. Led by the IPCC Chair, the Bureau is tasked with guiding the IPCC on the scientific and technical aspects of its work, advising on related management and strategic issues within its mandate.
The Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories has its own bureau separate from that of the IPCC Bureau. The Task Force Bureau is comprised of 12 members and two Co-Chairs who oversee the National Greenhouse Gas Programme.
After the release of the Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report in March 2023, governments of IPCC members were invited to nominate candidates for positions in the IPCC Bureau and the Bureau on the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. During elections, members are permitted a single vote for each position, and the ballot is secret. Once elected, the IPCC Bureau and the Task Force Bureau members are limited to serving during a single assessment cycle unless nominated for reelection in the same office for an additional cycle. Elected members do not receive payment from the IPCC.
During the meeting in Nairobi, IPCC members of the IPCC elected the following individuals to serve in the IPCC Bureau and the Task Force for the Seventh Assessment Report cycle:
IPCC Bureau
IPCC Chair: Jim Skea
Jim Skea is a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College London with research interests in energy, climate change and technological innovation. He served as Co-Chair of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report. He was also part of the scientific leadership for the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C.
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IPCC Vice-Chairs
- Ramón Pichs-Madruga (Cuba)
Ramón Pichs-Madruga served as Vice Chair of Working Group III during the Sixth Assessment Report cycle. He has been a Bureau member of the IPCC since 1997 and was a Co-chair of IPCC Working Group III from 2008-2015. Read more >>
- Diana Ürge-Vorsatz (Hungary)
Diana Ürge-Vorsatz served as Vice Chair of Working Group III during the Sixth Assessment Report cycle. She was a Coordinating Lead Author in two Assessment Reports of the IPCC. Read more >>
- Ladislaus Chang’a (Tanzania)
Dr. Chang’a has participated in the review of the IPCC reports since the Fourth Assessment Report Cycle. Read more >>
Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis
Co-Chairs:
- Xiaoye Zhang (China)
Xiaoye Zhang has been involved with the IPCC since 2001. He was the Lead Author for Working Group I in the Fourth and Fith Assessment Report cycles and a Review Editor for the Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report. Read more >>
- Robert Vautard (France)
Robert Vautard has extensive experience at the IPCC, first as a Review Editor of the Fifth Assessment Report, and also as an author of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C and the Working Group I report of the Sixth Assessment Report Cycle. Read more >>
Vice-Chairs:
- Ines Camilloni (Argentina)
Ines Camilloni participated in Working Group I of the Sixth Assessment Report as a Review Editor. She also participated as a Lead Author in the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C and the Working Group I report of the Fifth Assessment Report cycle. Read more >>
- Sherilee Harper (Canada)
Sherilee Harper contributed to the Working Group II report during the Sixth Assessment Report cycle. She also participated in the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. Read more >>
- Nana Ama Browne Klutse (Ghana)
Nana Ama Browne Klutse contributed to the Sixth Assessment Report and currently is a professor at the University of Ghana. Read more >>
- Edvin Aldrian (Indonesia)
Edvin Aldrian served as the Vice-Chair of Working Group I in the Sixth Assessment Report cycle. He has also held leadership positions at the WMO. Read more >>
- Maheswar Rupakheti (Nepal)
Maheswar Rupakheti previously served as an expert on emission inventory in the IPCC’s methodology Report on Short-Lived Climate Forcers. He has also participated in UNEP and World Bank reports. Read more >>
- Aida Diongue (Senegal)
Aida Diongue served as an author in Working Group I and the Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report. Read more >>
- Sonia Seneviratne (Switzerland)
Sonia Seneviratne has participated in the IPCC for the past 14 years, working on various Working Group reports, Special Reports, and expert meetings and workshops. Read more >>
Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
Co-Chairs:
- Winston Tseon Loong Chow (Singapore)
Winston Chow was extensively involved in the Sixth Assessment Report cycle, contributing to the Working Group II report and the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. He also served as an Expert Reviewer of the Fifth Assessment Report on Adaptation. Read more >>
- Bart Van Den Hurk (Netherlands)
Bart Van Den Hurk was a Lead Author of the Sixth Assessment report of the IPCC. He is an expert in the field of weather and climate information. Read more >>
Vice-Chairs:
- Laura Gallardo (Chile)
Laura Gallardo participated as an author in the Sixth Assessment Report cycle. She is currently a professor at the University of Chile. Read more >>
- Fatima Denton (Gambia)
Fatima Denton served as a Lead Author on the Working Group III report during the Sixth Assessment cycle and the Special Report on Climate Change and Land. She also was a Lead Author for the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports (Working Group II) and the Special Report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation. Read more >>
- Raman Sukumar (India)
Raman Sukumar has consistently contributed to the work of the IPCC since the Second Assessment Report. He has been Coordinating Lead Author, Lead Author and Review Editor for several IPCC Reports, including the Second Assessment Report, Special Report on LULUCF, Fourth Assessment Report, Special Report on Land and Climate, and Sixth Assessment Report. He was also Lead Author of the joint IPBES-IPCC report on Climate Change and Biodiversity. Read more >>
- Mark Howden (Australia)
Mark Howden contributed to the Working Group I, II, and III since the Second Assessment Report cycle and has participated in the Task Force Bureau on the development of GHG inventory methodologies. Read more >>
- Cromwel Lukorito (Kenya)
Cromwel Lukorito participated in the Working Group II and Working Group III of the Sixth Assessment Report. Read more >>
- Zinta Zommers (Latvia)
Zinta Zommers participated in the Sixth Assessment Report for the Special Report on Climate Change and Land, Synthesis Report, and the Working Group II report. She also participated as a Review Editor for the Fifth Assessment Report. Read more >>
- Carlos Mendez (Venezuela)
Carlos Mendez served as the Vice-Chair of Working Group II during the Sixth Assessment Report and has participated in other Working Groups throughout his time at the IPCC. Read more >>
- Adelle Thomas (Bahamas)
Adelle Thomas participated in the Sixth Assessment Report cycle as a Lead Author on the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C and the Working Group II report on adaptation. She also worked on the Fifth Assessment Report as a Contributing Author for Working Group II. Read more >>
Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change
Co-Chairs:
- Katherine Calvin (USA)
Katherine Calvin served as a Section facilitator on the Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report and contributed to the Working Group III report on mitigation and the Special Report on Climate Change and Land. She was also a contributing author in the Fifth Assessment Report cycle. Read more >>
- Joy Jacqueline Pereira (Malaysia)
Joy Jacqueline Pereira recently served as Vice-Chair of the Working Group II of the Sixth Assessment Report. She has also contributed to the Fifth Assessment Report and the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Weather Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. Read more >>
Vice-Chairs:
- Noureddine Yassaa (Algeria)
Noureddine Yassaa has been an IPCC Bureau member since 2015, serving as the Vice-Chair of Working Group I of the Sixth Assessment Report. Read more >>
- Gervais Iudovic Itsoua Madzous (Congo)
Gervais Iudovic Itsoua Madzous has participated in the work of the IPCC since 2013, serving as the focal point for the Republic of Congo. Read more >>
- Jan Sigurd Fudlestvedt (Norway)
Jan Sigurd Fudlestvedt served as Vice Chair of Working Group I during the Sixth Assessment Cycle. He previously participated in the Fifth Assessment Report as a Contributing Author to Working Group III, Lead Author for Working Group I, and part of the Core Writing Team for the Synthesis Report. Read more >>
- Eduardo Calvo (Peru)
Eduardo Calvo served as the Co-Chair of the Task Force Bureau and has contributed to IPCC reports since 2000. Read more >>
- Malak Alnory (Saudi Arabia)
Malak Alnory served as Co-Chair of the IPCC Ad-hoc Group on the Seventh Assessment Report Elections and the Bureau and all Task Forces. She has previously been involved with the IPCC as the Saudi Arabia Delegation Lead Scientist during governmental reviews and approval plenaries. Read more >>
- Siir Kilkis (Turkey)
Siir Kilkis participated in the Sixth Assessment Report as a Lead Author for Working Group III and engaged actively in supporting cross-chapter and cross-Working Group efforts. Read more >>
- Oliver Geden (Germany)
Oliver Geden participated in the Sixth Assessment Cycle as a Lead Author in Working Group III and a member of the Core Writing Team for the Synthesis Report. Read more >>
Task Force Bureau
Co-Chairs:
- Takeshi Enoki (Japan)
Takeshi Enoki has extensive experience as a lead reviewer of greenhouse has inventories and national reports of Annex I Parties to the UNFCCC. Read more >>
- Mazhar Hayat (Pakistan)
Mazhar Hayat has a long history of serving various positions in the public sector in Pakistan, where he has remained involved in national processes on the UNFCCC, IPCC, Basel Convention, and Montreal Protocol. Read more >>
Members:
- Laura Elena Dawidowski (Argentina)
Laura Elena Dawidowski is a member of the editorial board of the Emission Factors Database (until 2025). Share previously has participated as an author of the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Read more >>
- Hamid Abakar Souleymane (Chad)
Hamid Abakar Souleymane has served as the focal point to the IPCC since 2014, participating in government reviews and approval plenaries. Read more >>
- Samir Tantawi (Egypt)
Samir Tantawi participated as a Lead Author from 2017-2019 on the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Read more >>
- Amjad Abdulla (Maldives)
Amjad Abdulla served as the Vice Chair for Working Group III during the Sixth Assessment Cycle and served as Vice Chair of Working Group II during the Fifth Assessment Cycle. Read more >>
- Mohd Talib Latif (Malaysia)
Mohd Talib Latif participated in the Expert Meeting on Short-Lived Climate Forcers in 2022. Read more >>
- Irma Fabiola Ramirez Hernandez (Mexico)
Irma Fabiola Ramirez Hernandez directed national capacity building efforts on IPCC methodologies to subnational authorities. Read more >>
- Melissa Weitz (United States)
Melissa Weitz contributed to the 2019 refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Read more >>
- Mohammad Rahimi (Iran)
Mohammad Rahimi has participated in the IPCC as the focal point since 2003. Since then, Rahimi has contributed to numerous Working Group reports and Special Reports of the IPCC. Read more >>
- Yasna Rojas (Chile)
Yasna Rojas has been a member of the Task Force Bureau on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories since 2015. Read more >>
- Joni Jupesta (Indonesia)
Joni Jupesta served as a Lead Author for Working Group III during the Sixth Assessment Cycle and contributed to the Working Group III report during the Fifth Assessment Cycle. Read more >>
- Maria Jose Sanz Sanchez (Spain)
Maria Jose Sanz Sanchez has contributed to the work of the IPCC for 20 years as a member of the IPCC Emission Factors Data Base and an author on methodology reports. Read more >>
What’s Next
The IPCC, including its members and newly elected IPCC Bureau, will meet this fall to commence scoping work on AR7, including making decisions on the timing and structure of each report. The IPCC Bureau will also request that governments and observer organizations submit ideas for possible special reports to supplement the two reports already agreed to: a Special Report on climate change and cities, and a Methodology Report on short-lived climate forcers. The workplans for these reports and any other selected Special Reports will be finalized during the fall meeting.
These newly-elected leaders will guide the IPCC as it deepens our understanding of climate science during AR7, which will cover a period of time critical to future generations on Earth. The reports published during AR7 will inform the second Global Stocktake in 2028, determine whether we have kept warming below 1.5°C, and inform key actions necessary to achieve mid-century emissions reduction targets. Additionally, AR7 presents a new opportunity to address societal changes and demands on the institution, such as the meaningful inclusion of diverse peoples and knowledges.
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