More than 430 in-person delegates, and over 200 joining virtually, from across the globe came together at the Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto) in Japan for the CMIP Community Workshop 2026 (CMIP 2026). This inspiring venue hosted the COP3 negotiations leading to the landmark Kyoto Protocol nearly 30 years ago.
The community energy and enthusiasm over the five days of the workshop was palpable with a jam-packed agenda of plenary presentations, parallel science sessions, interactive side sessions and very lively poster sessions. The strong representation at CMIP 2026 from Early Career Researchers (ECRs; around one third of in person participants) and a vibrant ECR workshop led by Fresh Eyes on CMIP highlighted the huge potential within the community.
“The CMIP 2026 workshop brought together the international community from climate model developers and infrastructure providers, to users of CMIP data with engagement across career stages. The workshop was wonderfully hosted by Japan in the historic venue where the Kyoto Protocol was signed. The workshop confirmed that CMIP7 is on track to deliver the Assessment Fast Track, provided insight into CMIP7 science questions and enabled the opportunity to discuss the future of CMIP with AI and sustained mode”.
Helene Hewitt, CMIP Panel Co-Chair
As the community moves forward into CMIP7, the workshop provided opportunity to reflect on, and share, CMIP6 analysis and results, and engage in deeper discussions around the future of CMIP including design and implementation of a sustained mode. The launch of the Rapid Evaluation Framework was warmly welcomed, with its potential application in supporting the IPCC AR7 process, and wider WCRP activities such as CORDEX highlighted.
Importantly, across the broad range of sessions, barriers to success were highlighted including the need for an adequately resourced infrastructure to meet evolving user needs and how to overcome the challenges faced by ECRs and those in the Global South to participate, and lead, within the CMIP community.
CMIP 2026 would not have been possible without the critical and highly appreciated support of the Local Organising Committee (led by Masa Watanabe and Tomoki Miyakawa), including student helpers and the Kyoto ICC venue staff, providing an amazing experience for all participants.
“It was privilege to host the CMIP 2026 workshop at the ICC Kyoto, Japan, a historic venue for climate science. The programme featured outstanding research presented by both established scientists and talented early-career researchers, and facilitated linking across different research communities as we move forwards to CMIP7. The curiosity and energy of the younger generation was remarkable, providing reassuring evidence that our community has a bright future ahead despite the challenges posed by climate change.”
Masa Watanabe and Tomoki Miyakawa, CMIP 2026 Local Organising Committee Co-chairs
We would also like to thank the CMIP Panel and WIP, the Scientific Organising Committee, WCRP support team, CMIP IPO (particularly Beth Dingley, who led the organisation and implementation), and our generous sponsors. Without this support, a workshop on this scale could not have happened.
