In coordination with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) seeks expert comment on the second-order draft of the Working Group II contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). A Federal Register Notice has been published to promote the activity.

At the 46th Session of the Panel (Montreal, Canada • 6–10 September 2017), the IPCC approved the outline for the assessment (click here for the decision document). The current draft reflects feedback on the first-order version, collected during the first Expert Review (18 October–13 December 2019). Refer to the Principles Governing IPCC Work for more information on the rules and procedures governing IPCC assessment development.

The Government and Expert Review runs 4 December 2020–29 January 2021. USGCRP will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. ET, Friday, 8 January 2021, via its Review and Comment (R&C) System. All comments must be input via the R&C System if they are to inform the U.S. Government submission; additional information—including context, instructions, the draft report itself, and the comments collection vehicle—can be found on the landing page, accessible after registering and agreeing to terms of the review.

Experts are advised that they have the option to submit comments direct to IPCC. To participate in the concurrent Expert Review of the second-order draft, managed by IPCC, click here. The IPCC Secretariat will accept registrations until 22 January 2021. To avoid duplication, U.S. experts are requested not to submit via both the USGCRP and IPCC mechanisms. Pick a single conduit.

The second-order draft of the WGII AR6—which includes the first draft of its Summary for Policymakers—does not represent an approved product of the IPCC. According to the IPCC rules and procedures, draft IPCC reports should not be cited, quoted, or distributed other than for the purpose of review. In enabling the U.S. scientific expert community to review and provide comments on the report, participants are expected to abide by IPCC policy.