The CMIP7 emissions scenarios – and how they explore future climate change

Published 1 September 2026
  • Date (DD-MM-YYYY)

    01-09-2026 to 01-12-2026

    Available on-demand until 1st December 2026

  • Cost

    Free

  • Education type

    Publication

  • CPD subtype

    On-demand

Every six to seven years, climate modelling groups around the world run a coordinated set of simulations that explore how the climate could change in the future. 

These simulations form a key line of evidence for future projections used in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports. 

They are built around a set of common scenarios – or “pathways” – of future greenhouse gas emissions.

A new set of scenarios has now been published for the seventh phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP7). 

These replace the “shared socioeconomic pathways” (SSPs) that drove the previous generation of climate models and featured heavily in the IPCC’s sixth assessment report (AR6).

The new scenarios are quite different from their predecessors in a number of notable ways. 

Contact details

Education Provider

Carbon Brief

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