ICLEI and the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities
The first IPCC assessment dedicated to cities arrives in March 2027. ICLEI is working to make sure it reflects the realities of local and regional governments, and that they are ready to put it to work.
THE OPPORTUNITY
A once-in-a-cycle chance to put cities at the center of climate science
Cities are where emissions concentrate, where climate risks reach people most directly, and where many of the most practical solutions are already being delivered. Yet the evidence base on urban climate action remains fragmented, and cities in the Global South are strikingly underrepresented in research.
The Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (SR-Cities) is the first IPCC report devoted to urban areas, the first product of the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle and the cycle’s only special report. Led jointly by all three IPCC Working Groups, it will assess risks, adaptation, mitigation, governance, planning and finance across diverse urban contexts.
Its timing matters. The report lands as the second Global Stocktake moves into technical assessment, ahead of its outcome in November 2028, giving the latest urban science a direct path into the next phase of global climate ambition.
Read more about the Report
key facts
March 2027
Expected approval and publication
First
IPCC report with urban practitioners alongside researchers as authors
100+
Authors from 56 countries
32,000+
Comments from 1,300+ experts on the First-Order Draft
ICLEI'S ROLE
Bringing local experience into the science, from scoping to review
As an accredited observer organization to the IPCC, ICLEI has championed a cities report since the Panel decided to prepare one in 2016. In 2024, ICLEI nominated urban practitioners and local policymakers to the report’s scoping meeting in Riga, the first time the IPCC brought practitioners into the room alongside scientists.
Three experts from the ICLEI network now hold author roles, and two ICLEI staff members, Pourya Salehi and Haley Leck, also contributed to the report.
ICLEI has mobilized the urban community in every review round, including co-leading the organized expert review of the Second-Order Draft at the 2026 Innovate4Cities Conference in Nairobi, which channelled more than 600 comments to the IPCC.
The road to SR-Cities
- 2016 · Nairobi IPCC-43 decides to prepare a Special Report on cities
- April 2024 · Riga Scoping meeting includes urban practitioners for the first time
- Jul–Aug 2024 · Sofia IPCC-61 agrees the five-chapter outline
- January 2025 Author team selected, including three ICLEI-nominated experts
- Oct–Dec 2025 First-Order Draft review: 32,000+ comments
- May–Jul 2026 Second-Order Draft and first draft Summary for Policymakers reviewed; Daring Cities (Bonn) and Innovate4Cities (Nairobi) sessions
- 2026-2027 [TBC] Government review of the final draft and Summary for Policymakers
- March 2027 Approval and publication
- November 2028 Second Global Stocktake concludes
WHAT TO EXPECT
The months ahead: Getting cities ready before the report lands
With expert review now closed, authors are finalizing the report and its Summary for Policymakers, which governments will comment on before the IPCC approves the report, expected in March 2027.
For local and regional governments, publication should not be the moment uptake begins. We are working with partners so local and regional governments can use the findings from day one:
- Audience-specific products, from briefs for mayors and ministries to regional fact sheets and investment-oriented materials
- National–local dialogues linking the report to NDC implementation, including through Daring Cities 2027
- Carrying the findings into the UNFCCC process and the second Global Stocktake through the LGMA Constituency
Follow ICLEI’s work on SR-Cities
