Pachauri not to quit IPCC
Apparetly buoyed by government support, Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change chief RK Pachauri today said he was in no mood to follow the footsteps of Yvo de Boer, the UN's top climate change official who has quit the post unhappay over the outcome of Copenhagen summit.
"Certainly not," Pauchari said when asked if he too would resign like Boer who announced his decision to quit the post last month, apparently unhappy over failure of the Copenhagen summit in December last year.
After an eventful stint as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Boer had last month said he would demit the office by July 1.
Pachauri-led IPCC has been under fire since revelations that its landmark Fourth Assessment Report in 2007 mistakenly predicted that the Himalayan glaciers could disappear by the year 2035 as a result of global warming.
The scientist, who has been under intense pressure particularly from Western quarters to resign, said it was the only one mistake in the entire report for which he could not be held responsible.
"The IPCC has already instituted an inquiry. It will reveal the entire thing once the probe is completed," he said on the sidelines of a function here.
The government backed Pachauri with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh saying "any attempt to unseat him would be strongly resisted."
Backing embattled UN Climate Chief R K Pachauri to the hilt, the Government today said it will "fight" any attempt to unseat him.
Pachauri meanwhile ruled out any possibility of his resigning as the Head of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) and following the footsteps of another UN top climate change official Yvo de Boer, who has quit the post unhappy over the outcome of Copenhagen summit.
"Certainly not," Pauchari said when asked if he too would resign like Boer.
Coming to the defence of Pachauri who is under fire for making claims on melting of Himalayan glacier, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said THE Government had full confidence in him.
"We have full confidence in Chairman of IPCC," Ramesh said during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha.
The Government, he said, had objected to the alarm that was created by Fourth Assessment Report of IPCC suggesting that Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035.
The report was based on poorly substantiated estimates of recession. "In drafting the paragraph on the subject in question, the clear and well established standards of evidence, required by the IPCC procedures, were not applied properly," he said.
The IPCC report was used politically by certain countries to pressurise India into coming on board to make commitments to control climate change.
"India's objections to the report were upheld and we were vindicated," he said. "We are backing IPCC Chairman (Pachauri) and will fight any attempt to unseat him," he added.
Pachauri-led IPCC has been under fire since revelations that its landmark Fourth Assessment Report in 2007 mistakenly predicted that the Himalayan glaciers could disappear by the year 2035 as a result of global warming.
The scientist, who has been under intense pressure particularly from Western quarters to resign, said it was the only one mistake in the entire report for which he could not be held responsible.
"The IPCC has already instituted an inquiry. It will reveal the entire thing once the probe is completed," he said.
