How China, US and others watered down a key UN climate document

The US State Department declined to comment. A senior administration official defended the final IPCC summary for policymakers, saying it was clear about the critical message

By Laura Millan and Eric Roston

China, the US and Saudi Arabia are among countries that significantly altered a United Nations document that will shape global climate policy for years to come, according to an account of international negotiations preceding its release.

The report published this week was written by Earth Negotiations Bulletin, the only news organization allowed to observe proceedings when 195 nations gathered to approve a summary of climate science findings over the last five years. The document they were debating, meant to advise policymakers, is separate from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s much longer report, which