India forms new climate change body
The Indian government has established its own body to monitor the effects of
global warming because it "cannot rely" on the United Nations'
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the group headed by its own leading
scientist Dr R.K Pachauri.
By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
Published: 3:47PM GMT 04 Feb 2010
Comments 130 | Comment on this article
Everest from the summit of Kala Patar Gokyo Nepal Himalaya: India forms new
climate change body
Scientists believe it could take more than 300 years for the HImalayan glaciers
to disappear Photo: ALAMY
The move is a significant snub to both the IPCC and Dr Pachauri as he battles
to defend his reputation following the revelation that his most recent climate
change report included false claims that most of the Himalayan glaciers would
melt away by 2035. Scientists believe it could take more than 300 years for the
glaciers to disappear.
The body and its chairman have faced growing criticism ever since as questions
have been raised on the credibility of their work and the rigour with which
climate change claims are assessed.
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In India the false claims have heightened tensions between Dr Pachauri and the
government, which had earlier questioned his glacial melting claims. In Autumn,
its environment minister Mr Jairam Ramesh said while glacial melting in the
Himalayas was a real concern, there was evidence that some were actually
advancing despite global warming.
Dr Pachauri had dismissed challenges like these as based on "voodoo science",
but last night Mr Ramesh effectively marginalized the IPC chairman even further.
He announced the Indian government will established a separate National
Institute of Himalayan Glaciology to monitor the effects of climate change on
the world's `third ice cap', and an `Indian IPCC' to use `climate science' to
assess the impact of global warming throughout the country.
"There is a fine line between climate science and climate evangelism. I am for
climate science. I think people misused [the] IPCC report, [the] IPCC doesn't
do the original research which is one of the weaknesses
they just take
published literature and then they derive assessments, so we had goof-ups on
Amazon forest, glaciers, snow peaks.
