UN Panel to Strengthen Climate Research Systems, Pachauri Says

The Nobel prize-winning United Nations climate panel said it will use more rigorous research systems after being forced to re-examine its estimate of how fast Himalayan glaciers are melting.

The panel, whose work set the benchmark for global climate negotiations, is investigating research that suggested that Himalayan glaciers may disappear by 2035 after a report in the London-based Times newspaper that flawed data may have been used.

“Our systems are very robust; all we have to ensure is better implementation,” Rajendra Pachauri, who heads the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told reporters in New Delhi today. “We will ensure greater consistency in the next assessment report.”

The group, mandated to create a climate research summary used by policy makers worldwide, said in a 2007 report that the likelihood of Himalayan glaciers vanishing within three decades is “very high” should the Earth keep warming at current rates. The glaciers supply water to hundreds of millions of Chinese and Indians.

Pachauri chairs the IPCC panel that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The IPCC’s practices were challenged late last year after e-mails stolen from computer servers at the University of East Anglia showed climate researchers discussed keeping some scientific papers out of the IPCC report.

The British university said the e-mails were taken out of context. The report has formed the basis for two years of global climate-treaty talks.

“The skeptics have money and support from vested interests,” said Pachauri, adding he doesn’t plan to resign. “They aren’t looking for something scientifically valid for their arguments. Finally, truth will prevail.”