A meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was suspended on Friday without a deal on when to publish its next major assessment, AFP and Reuters reported. The meeting ran past its planned end, and many delegates from the poorest countries and small island states had to leave, the IPCC said.

The timeline for the reports and the panel's budget "remain open and under discussion," the IPCC said. It said talks will resume "at the earliest opportunity" but gave no date.

Many countries want the next assessment out in 2028, in time for a UN review of progress under the 2015 Paris Agreement, AFP and Reuters reported. Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, India and China, are pressing for more time so that scientists and governments in developing countries can contribute, the two agencies reported. AFP reported that those countries favor 2029.

Reuters reported that the dispute over the timeline has lasted nearly three years. A coalition of countries from all five continents "managed to withstand pressure from a few countries seeking to slow down the process," French envoy Benoit Faraco said on LinkedIn, according to AFP.

"Progress was blocked, down to the end – a shameful play for time when there is no time to waste," said Tina Stege, the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, according to AFP and Reuters.

IPCC reports are written by hundreds of experts and approved by every member country, Reuters reported. Governments use them to plan for climate change, Reuters reported. The panel's last full assessment ended with a summary report in 2023, the IPCC's website shows.

What we know: The IPCC meeting was suspended with no agreed date for its next major reports.
What we don't: When the talks will resume and whether the reports will be ready by 2028.