U.N. announces independent review of IPCC climate agency as skepticism grows

FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2010 file photo, the head of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra
Pachauri speaks during a press conference in New Delhi,
India. Many climate ministers are growing increasingly
concerned about the IPCC and Pachauri ability to lead
the panel. (AP Photo, File)

Faced with falling public confidence in climate science, the United Nations announced it would conduct a review of its climate arm, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The panel’s work has come under heavy fire in recent months and its leader, Rajendra Pachauri, now is lacking support from international climate ministers themselves.

Dozens of errors have been discovered in the IPCC’s seminal AR4 report in recent weeks. Claims of disappearing Himalayan glaciers, threatened Amazonian rain forests and more have all been discredited. The report which was supposed to be a shining example of peer reviewed science cited dozens of questionable sources from climate advocacy groups.

At a meeting held by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Bali, ministers recognized the many errors and are seeking to reassure the world their science is sound. Privately, ministers have expressed embarrassment at the errors and frustration at the handling of the issues by Pachauri.

Nick Nuttall, UNEP spokesman, told reporters that details of the review would be announced next week. The makeup of the group “will be senior scientific figures,” he said. "I can't name who they are right now. It should do a review of the IPCC, produce a report by, say, August and there is a plenary of the IPCC in South Korea in October. The report will go there for adoption."

In a private meeting with the governing council, Pachauri did little to reassure them of his ability to lead the panel going forward. He expressed ‘regret’ for the errors but did not apologize, adding to the frustration of the leaders. The IPCC’s leader further only admitted to the Himalayan glacier error calling the dozens of others ‘misunderstandings.’

Pachauri attempted to convince the ministers that he and the IPCC could conduct their own internal review but ministers refused the overture. They insisted that the panel be independent of the IPCC, realizing that the organization cannot produce an impartial review of itself.

"There's no review panel at the moment. Yesterday, it was clear from the member states roughly how they would like this panel to be, i.e. fully independent and not appointed by the IPCC but appointed by an independent group of scientists themselves," Nuttall said.

Calls have mounted for Pachauri to resign his post in the wake of the affair and after revelations of conflicts of interest between his work with the U.N. and his private business interests. Some ministers have told news agencies behind the scenes that they wished he would step aside.

The ministers insist the science behind the manmade climate change theory is sound. They state that the review is simply a way to reassure a public that has grown increasingly skeptical of it.

The errors in the IPCC report are but one of many setbacks recently faced by those who believe man is the primary driver of the climate. The Climategate email scandal late last year saw private communications among the world’s top climate scientists revealed. Those messages have led to charges of collusion, improper modification of climate data and suppression of dissenting opinion.

Further complicating the message is the reality that global temperatures are in fact cooling. Phil Jones, one of the scientists at the forefront of the Climategate affair, conceded this point recently.

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