We’re delighted to announce that five members of Oxford Net Zero have been named as authors on forthcoming reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dr Steve Smith, our Executive Director, has been named as a Lead Author on the upcoming methodology report on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). Dr Nicoletta (Niki) Brazzola, who works on the Net Zero Aviation project, is also a Lead Author on the methodology report. The report will be published in late 2027, and will give countries guidance on how to estimate and report the emissions they manage through CDR and CCUS as part of their national greenhouse gas inventories. Each country’s inventory includes greenhouse gas sources and sinks that are present within its jurisdiction. Members of the report author team are kicking off their work with a meeting in Rome this week.
Reflecting on his involvement, Steve said:
“I’m honoured to be chosen by the IPCC as a Lead Author for this report. The work we are doing here in Oxford shows the diversity of emerging CDR technologies and the speed at which they are developing. CDR will play an increasingly important role in our efforts to tackle climate change, along with other technologies for managing and avoiding CO2 emissions. To get that right, countries will need sound guidance on how to estimate and report their progress. I look forward to working with the author team and the IPCC on providing the best available science.”
Niki expressed her hope that the report would enable countries to estimate their remaining carbon budgets as accurately as possible:
“In the chapter I will be involved in, we will establish best practices for quantifying and reporting emissions and removals from CO2 utilisation in products such as fuels and chemicals. It’s both exciting and daunting, as the report will shape how countries report their emissions and removals under international frameworks for years to come. Getting this right will be vital to avoid mis-estimations of remaining carbon budgets.”
Three members of Oxford Net Zero are contributing to the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7). The IPCC’s Assessment Reports set out our current knowledge of climate change, its potential impacts and our options for responding. Three Working Groups are feeding into AR7, and a Synthesis Report of their outputs will be published in 2029. Working Group I will report on the physical science basis of climate change, Working Group II will report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, and Working Group III will report on climate change mitigation. The members of the Working Groups were announced in late 2025.
Dr Selam Kidane Abebe, Senior Research Fellow in Net Zero Law and member of the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, is serving as a Lead Author for the losses and damages chapter of AR7 as part of Working Group II. She said:
“Contributing as Lead Author to the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is particularly significant to contribute to the first Working Group II chapter dedicated to responding to losses and damages, at a time when the human and economic impacts of climate change are increasingly evident. To date, the process has been collaborative and intellectually rigorous. I hope the chapter will provide robust, policy-relevant evidence that enables decision-makers to better understand not only the scale and nature of losses and damages, but also the types of responses, governance and institutional arrangements, and support mechanisms required to address them in an equitable and effective manner.”
In addition, Dr Ben Caldecott and Dr Jessica Omukuti are both contributing to the finance chapter of AR7 as part of Working Group III – Ben as a Coordinating Lead Author and Jessica as a Lead Author. Ben is one of Oxford Net Zero’s Co-Investigators and Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group. Jessica is Oxford Net Zero’s Research Fellow on Inclusive Net Zero. For her, involvement in the IPCC process is a chance to help move us toward financial systems that will enable all countries to decarbonise:
“Being a Lead Author for Chapter 7 on climate finance in the IPCC’s Working Group III is incredibly meaningful to me. It is an opportunity to engage deeply with the latest knowledge on how finance can either enable or hinder low-carbon transitions, particularly in Global South countries. I am excited to contribute to a body of work that can help bridge the gap between climate ambition and the financial systems needed to deliver it.”
Congratulations to all of the authors!
