Speech by M. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs during the IPCC experts’ meeting at the French Foreign Ministry (2 December 2025)

Minister, dear Philippe Baptiste,
Dear chair of the IPCC, Sir Jim Skea,
Dear scientists,

I am Jean-Noël Barrot, and I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Ten years ago, just a few kilometers away from where we stand, the world achieved what many thought impossible: the adoption of the Paris Agreement.

For the first time, humanity collectively set itself a limit to keep global warming well below 2 degrees and to pursue efforts to stay under 1.5 degrees.

This ambition was not born from intuition or diplomatic ingenuity, even though it required some diplomatic ingenuity. It was built on the IPCC work. It was anchored in the Fifth Assessment Report. Because of your work, scientific evidence crystallized into a shared political horizon, guiding multilateral action to address one of the greatest challenges of our time.

Ten years later, we have reasons to acknowledge progress. The Paris Agreement has succeeded in bending the curve of projected warming. It has helped avert some of the most catastrophic scenarios that once seemed inevitable.

But we also know that this is far from enough. Your projections are unequivocal. Global emissions must fall by 43% by 2030, and by 60% by 2035, if we are to keep 1.5 degrees within reach.

Once again, scientists have handed governments the map, the compass and the timeline. The question now is simple: will political leaders have the will to follow them?

The truth is that we face strong headwinds. We saw this again at COP30. in Belém. Nearly 80 countries have not yet submitted their nationally determined contributions. And the sum of the contributions presented does not put us back on the 1.5 pathway. The final text, regrettably, lacks ambition. France deeply regrets this outcome.

But Belém also revealed something deeper and more troubling: climate skepticism is rising again. Science is under attack. Climate disinformation is being deliberately orchestrated by actors determined to slow the ecological transition.

Fighting pernicious narratives is now a central pillar of effective climate action. It requires international cooperation, transparency, and rapid responses to organized campaigns that distort science. As President Macron said at COP30, we must choose science over ideology, we must resist and fight back.

But governments cannot carry this burden alone. For every voice that spreads doubt, there must be a stronger chorus of scientists putting forward the facts.

So today, we call on you, as the IPCC community, as researchers and as individual citizens to stand up for climate information integrity. Few people on this planet understand better than you do what is at stake. That is why we need your clarity and your courage more than ever.

Dear scientists, France will stand with you. We will continue to place science at the heart of our diplomacy. And for the IPCC, this commitment means two things.

First, our financial support will be renewed so that your work can remain independent, rigorous and accessible.

Second, we are determined to ensure that the Seventh Assessment Report is delivered before the Second Global Stocktake that will occur in 2028.

And so, as you begin to undertake the Seventh Assessment Report, let me state this clearly to conclude. We stand with you to fight disinformation. We stand with you to promote free and open science. We stand with you to ensure that policy continues to be grounded in research, not shaped in its absence. We’re entering the decisive years of this decisive decade, that will determine whether we can still contain global warming. Every fraction of a degree matters. Every policy delay has consequences. Either we follow science, or we face escalating and irreversible impacts.

France chooses science. France chooses ambition. And together with you, France will continue to defend the only path that gives future generations a fighting chance.