The US, in particular, saw its share of contributors plummet, while South Korea and Pakistan saw the greatest increase as a share of contributors.

The task was made easier by the pandemic. Unlike previous IPCC reports, which were hashed out in person, AR6 was developed remotely. That made it easier for researchers from the global south to avoid visa restrictions, high travel costs, and other hidden costs that tend to exclude them from global scientific conferences.

“Adapting to climate change requires locally appropriate solutions,” Christopher Trisos, a senior researcher at the University of Cape Town’s African Climate and Development Initiative, told Quartz. “In order to assess climate solutions in a way that leaves no country behind, and to identify where inequitable power relations between the global north and south present barriers, it is essential to have a diversity of scientific backgrounds and nationalities represented in climate change assessments.”

This year’s WG1 report is also slightly more equitable on gender, although 72% of authors were still male (compared to 82% in AR5). Female climate scientists are not immune from the discrimination and harassment that plagues the scientific community and society at large. Rajendra Pachauri, a climate scientist from India who chaired the IPCC from 2002 to 2015 and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work, was due to stand trial for sexual harassment allegations before his death in Feb. 2020.

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