The United Nations has brought together roughly 600 climate experts in France to begin preparing [1] another major assessment on climate change, only weeks after about 50,000 people traveled to the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, where delegates concluded the event without reaching concrete agreements beyond scheduling future discussions.
French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut addressed the assembled scientists in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, telling them their work was “extremely precious” at a time when, she said, multilateral efforts have weakened because of those who question the direction of international climate policy.
“There is also something that should concern us all: The rise of climate-related disinformation on our social media, in our newspapers and even at the heart of our policy political institutions,” Barbut said, according to AFP.
Misinformation is a top global threat in the next 2 years – according to the @wef [2].
This includes “climate delay”, questioning the scientific consensus behind climate change & solutions.
Every fact you share builds the trust we need for collective action. #FactsMatter [3] pic.twitter.com/YUn8i4D6Ho [4]
— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) August 5, 2025 [5]
She added, “Too many people deny the results of your work,” speaking to experts from more than 100 countries gathered in a skyscraper for the meeting.
Skepticism toward international climate initiatives continues to be reflected in statements from President Donald Trump and his administration.
During a speech at the United Nations in September, the president called climate change the “greatest con job ever” and a “hoax.”
NOW – Trump: “Climate change— it’s the greatest con-job ever perpetrated on the world.” pic.twitter.com/BZp9jX0d9w [6]
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 23, 2025 [7]
His remarks followed years of criticism of global climate negotiations, including his view that the process produces few actionable outcomes.
Katherine Calvin, a U.S. climate commentator and one of the lead authors of the upcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, is among those participating in the process.
Calvin was removed from her position as chief scientist at NASA under orders from the Trump administration.
Speaking about the administration’s public position on climate change, an official at the French ecological transition ministry, who asked not to be identified, told AFP, “The statements, for example, from the American administration on the origin of climate change, the fact that it’s a hoax, if you will, we still find that quite surprising.”
The meeting in France marks the start of work on the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report, known as AR7, which is scheduled for release in either 2028 or 2029.
Delegates will contribute research and analysis intended to shape the next major installment of the panel’s findings.
Last month’s COP30 summit in Belém concluded with a declaration urging a mutirão, or “collective effort,” to avert what organizers described as a potential climate crisis.
At #COP30 [8], countries united behind a landmark declaration on information integrity, reinforcing the global commitment to protect science-based information as the foundation of effective #ClimateAction [9]. pic.twitter.com/so0suL368w [10]
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) November 12, 2025 [11]
The document offered few details on how countries should pursue those goals.
Participants suggested nations should triple their spending on climate-related initiatives over the next decade and use voluntary indicators to monitor environmental progress.
The declaration also announced plans for a “Global Implementation Accelerator,” a program intended to move countries away from fossil fuels, though the specific steps for doing so were not provided.
One of the most significant unresolved topics at COP30 involved the future of global fossil fuel use.
Delegates did not reach an agreement on how to address the issue, and it has been scheduled for further discussion at the next COP summit in Turkey in 2026.