30.03.2026

More than 430 participants attended in person and over 200 joined online for the CMIP Community Workshop 2026 (CMIP 2026) from March, 9 to 13, at the Kyoto International Conference Center in Japan - a venue associated with signing the Kyoto protocol. Climate model developers and infrastructure providers, as well as users of CMIP data from around the world met to discuss recent scientific progress and the next steps towards CMIP7.

A central focus of the workshop was the transition from CMIP6 to CMIP7. Participants reviewed results from CMIP6, discussed scientific priorities for CMIP7 and addressed future developments of the CMIP infrastructure, including plans for a sustained operational mode.

With CMIP positioned within the Earth System Modelling and Observations (ESMO) Core Project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), ESMO —whose International Project Office (IPO) is hosted at DKRZ — was one of the co-sponsors of the CMIP 2026 workshop and contributed to the overall organisation of the event.

In addition,  the ESMO IPO organised the launch of the new “Working Group on Coupled Modelling (WGCM) Forum: Frontiers in Earth System Modelling”. The Forum is designed to broaden participation across the expanding global modelling community and provide a more inclusive platform for exchange between modelling centres worldwide. Its launch event took place as an interactive World Café session being convened by Fanny Adloff and Bimochan Niraula from the ESMO IPO, bringing together around 40 participants to discuss priorities for the Forum’s future activities. Going forward, the WGCM Forum is expected to meet annually alongside major scientific conferences.

DKRZ contributed to the workshop through Martin Schupfner, who attended as a member of the CMIP CV Task Team and the CMIP Data Request Task Team.Together with other researchers, he co-convened a session on accessing and using CMIP data and on providing CMIP7 data. In addition, the workshop provided an opportunity for discussions with the WIP and CMIP Task Team members on open issues concerning the CMIP7

 CMIP 2026 also highlighted broader challenges for the climate modelling community, including the need for sustainable infrastructure funding and improved opportunities for early-career researchers and scientists from the Global South.

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