IPCC, UNFCCC and India's COP26 pledges
The science body, the treaty and the pledges: how the world tracks warming and what India promised at Glasgow.
What the paper can ask
- IPCC: created in 1988, based in Geneva, 195 member states; shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore; chair Jim Skea since July 2023. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- IPCC reports: First Assessment 1990 to the Sixth (synthesis March 2023); the 1.5 degree special report came in 2018.
- UNFCCC: opened for signature 4 June 1992 at Rio, in force 21 March 1994, 198 parties; executive secretary Simon Stiell since August 2022; Kyoto (1997, in force 2005) and Paris (2015) work within it. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- Panchamrit (COP26, Glasgow, November 2021): 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030, half of energy needs from renewables by 2030, one billion tonnes of projected emissions cut by 2030, 45 percent lower carbon intensity by 2030, and a net-zero year.
Latest
India's fifth pledge is net zero by 2070. The 2026 COP is COP31.
Why exams ask
Setters ask who set up the IPCC, where the UNFCCC secretariat sits, which city hosted COP26, the Panchamrit numbers and India's net-zero year.
The full story
Climate diplomacy runs on three tracks. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), set up in 1988, assesses the science in big reports but does no research of its own. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed at Rio in 1992, is the treaty under which the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement sit, with the annual COP as its supreme body. At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 India announced five pledges, the Panchamrit.
Test yourself
1.The 1992 Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro opened for signature the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the:
Correct. Rio 1992 produced the UNFCCC, the CBD, Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration and the Forest Principles; the UNCCD followed in 1994.
Not quite. Rio 1992 produced the UNFCCC, the CBD, Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration and the Forest Principles; the UNCCD followed in 1994. It goes into your error book.
2.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by:
Correct. The World Meteorological Organization and UN Environment Programme created the IPCC in 1988; it is based in Geneva and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Not quite. The World Meteorological Organization and UN Environment Programme created the IPCC in 1988; it is based in Geneva and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. It goes into your error book.
3.The secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is located in:
Correct. The UNFCCC secretariat has been in Bonn since 1996; UNEP is in Nairobi and the IPCC in Geneva.
Not quite. The UNFCCC secretariat has been in Bonn since 1996; UNEP is in Nairobi and the IPCC in Geneva. It goes into your error book.