Ghana hosts key IPCC meeting on climate impact assessment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is convening an Expert Meeting on Adaptation Metrics, Methodologies and Indicators for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Accra, Ghana, from 3 to 5 March 2026.

The meeting is being held with the support of Ghana’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on behalf of the Government of Ghana. It is organized by IPCC Working Group II, which is mandated to assess the latest scientific evidence on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. The session comes at a pivotal stage in the IPCC assessment cycle as authors prepare the first draft of the Working Group II contribution to the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).

Approximately 75 experts from around the world are expected to participate in the three-day meeting. Discussions will focus on advancing approaches, methodologies, metrics and indicators used to assess climate change impacts and adaptation. The meeting will also examine how these tools can better inform decision-making processes and support the tracking of adaptation progress.

Participants are expected to review existing frameworks and guidelines, identify gaps for improvement, and contribute technical inputs toward the revision and update of the IPCC Technical Guidelines. The objective is to support inclusive decision-making and strengthen the effective implementation of adaptation actions globally.

The programme will begin with a media briefing on 3 March 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., followed by an Opening Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. at the Alisa Hotel in Ridge, Accra. Members of the media have been invited to attend both events. An outreach event is also scheduled for 4 March 2026 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the same venue. The outreach session will be jointly hosted by the EPA on behalf of the Government of Ghana, the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), and the IPCC.

Key speakers at the media briefing, opening ceremony and outreach event include Hon. Seidu Issifu, Minister of State in Charge of Climate Change and Sustainability, and Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority and Vice-Chair of IPCC Working Group I.

The Accra meeting forms part of the IPCC’s broader work programme under its Seventh Assessment Cycle. During its 61st Plenary Session held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 27 July to 2 August 2024, the Panel agreed on the outlines for a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities, scheduled for approval and publication in March 2027. It also agreed on 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, including adaptation indicators, metrics and guidelines, will be developed in conjunction with the Working Group II report and published as a separate product.

The IPCC’s 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 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28 in Dubai.

The Accra meeting underscores Ghana’s role in supporting global climate science discussions and contributing to the development of stronger adaptation measurement frameworks worldwide