United Nations:
The United Nations has launched an independent review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has come under much criticism in recent months.
The decision was announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri in the wake of a report by the body which wrongly claimed that Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035.
The 2007 report of the IPCC erroneously claimed that the Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035.
"... We need to ensure full transparency, accuracy and objectivity and minimise the potential of any error going forward. I have initiated in tandem with the head of the IPCC a comprehensive independent review of the IPCC's procedures and processes," Ban said.
"This review will be conducted by the InterAcademy Council...it will be done completely independent of the United Nations," he said.
The InterAcademy Council (IAC) is a multinational organisation of science academies crated to produce reports on scientific, technological and health issues.
"The IAC is ready to take on the challenge of the review of the IPCC. Our goal will be to ensure nations around the world that they will receive sound scientific advice on climate science with which governments and citizens alike can make informed decisions," IAC co-chair Robbert Dijkgraaf said. The error has also been attributed to a typographical error with the words 2035 appearing instead of 2350.
Since then, there have been several calls for inquiry into the work of the IPCC and the resignation of Pachauri, who refused to step down. (With PTI input)
In an exclusive interview to NDTV's Sarah Jacob, Rajendra Pachauri discusses the UN's decision to order an independent review of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which he heads. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the review will be conducted by Amsterdam-based InterAcademy Council (ICA), a multinational organization of science and engineering academies. The IPCC has been under fire for releasing incorrect date on global warming, including its impact on glaciers.
NDTV: The IPCC is now going to be under review. Does this increase the credibility of the organization or do just the opposite, basically saying that this is an organization that needs to be supervised?
Pachauri: Firstly, let me make one thing clear. We asked for this review. The IPCC has been in existence for 21 years. It has done a remarkable job of bringing science to the subject of climate change into the global consciousness of society but unfortunately, there were some mistakes that were made. They were human mistakes. We believe that what we really need to do is to review our processes and procedures where we eliminate the possibilities of such mistakes in the future. So last month, we wrote to all the governments saying that we would like to carry out an independent review. And after a lot of consultations with ministers from various countries and the Secretary General of the UN, we came up with this joint approach, where the Secretary-General and I requested the Inter Academic Council - which is the apex scientific body consisting of all the national academies of science - to carry out a review. And that is what they are going to do. Our intentions are to treat the recommendations that they come up with very seriously. In the process, IPCC will get strengthened. I have no doubt about that.
NDTV: Are they only going to oversee the procedures followed or are they also going to review the actual content of climate change science, and it being a man-made problem?
Pachauri: They are not going to go into that. For that, we have thousands of scientists who work on the IPCC reports who are professionals in the field of climate change. What the IAC is going to do is to essentially look at IPPC procedures, and how we implement them in the preparation of a report. They are certainly not going into the science of climate change. That is well within the competency of the scientists at IPCC. We have no reason to go outside to get help in that regard.
NDTV: So how do you decide who is going to be on the panel, and are climate change skeptics going to be on it and would that give it more credibility?
Pachauri: This is a totally independent review and we are not going to enter into deciding who is going to be on the panel. That will be a decision entirely of the IAC. I am sure they will exercise a lot of discretion in choosing those that not only are independent and seen to be so. We have no role at all in this review because we want it to be totally sanitized, independent and completely objective.
NDTV: But in the end, despite the entire body of work of the IPCC, this entire episode had given a lot of climate change skeptics ammunition. Polls now show the number of people who believe that climate change is a man-made problem have fallen. That is the opposite effect of what the IPCC works for. Your response?
Pachauri: We will spread the message of Science as effectively as we can. The reality is that those who do not believe in climate science are very well-organized and they are taking advantage of this situation. But I am absolutely convinced that in the end, the truth will prevail. Let me emphasize that despite these so-called errors they are talking about, there is one error that we regret very much and that is the melting of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035. That was a mistake, which unfortunately did not get detected, as it should have.
But the solid evidence and findings of the IPCC for the assessment report are totally valid, so nobody should take any thing away from that reality. Of course those who don't believe in climate change and the human influence on the earth's climate are harping on what I would say are completely insignificant issues, and ignoring the reality of man-made climate change.
My belief is that the public and rational people will rise to the occasion and will realize the value of what the IPCC has done and will do in the future. So in my mind I have no doubt that this is only a temporary phase. We will do our work diligently. May I say that the allegations that have been published in one single set of newspapers the telegraph in the UK are based on false hood and lies? I am doing my work as effectively as I can for the IPCC. May I also add that all that the IPCC produces by way of knowledge is in the public domain so if I make that available to government, businesses, civil society then I am really carrying out the mission of the IPCC. I see no scope for conflict of interest there.
NDTV: The deadline for the review is the 31st of August. Until then, what will change on the ground for the IPCC in the way you carry out your studies? What are the lessons learnt?
Pachauri: The IPCC is now embarking on the fifth assessment report. We have already written to all the governments of the world to send us nominations of authors. Over the next few months, we will be busy selecting authors who I am sure are going to be the best from across the globe. Then we get started with the fifth assessment report and by the time we will get the recommendations of this review panel, we will certainly look at them very carefully. All the 190 plus members of the IPCC are going to study these recommendations and how to implement them but in the mean time we are working diligently towards starting work on the fifth assessment report, and I have absolutely no reason to doubt that it will be a solid, robust and reliable compilation of scientific evidence.