Pressure mounting for Rajendra Pachauri to resign as IPCC head

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Pressure is mounting for Rajendra Pachauri to resign as head of the UN climate change panel over fears that his increasingly troubled tenure is hampering efforts to halt global warming.

By Heidi Blake

Rajendra Pachauri Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The Indian chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been dogged by controversy since he was forced to admit a serious error in a landmark report arguing the case for man-made global warming earlier this year.

Climate sceptics have long been vocal cricitcs of Dr Pachauri, but environmentalists and politicians have now joined a chorus of voices calling for his resignation after eight years in the job following an independent report last month that recommended chairmen of the IPCC should serve for no longer than six years.

Dr Pachauri's standing was badly damaged earlier this year when it emerged that the claim in a 2007 report by the IPCC that the Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035 was a mistake.

The former railways engineer has admitted the error dealt a grave blow to the credibility of the IPCC, which was set up to sift through scientific research and produce the most authoritative reports for the UN.

Tim Yeo, chairman of the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, joined calls for his resignation this morning.

"I’m afraid I think Dr Pachauri should resign. Firstly he personally has lost credibility, particularly in relation to his claim about the melting of the Himalayan glaciers in the next 30 years," he told the BBC.

He added: "It’s vital that this body is led by someone whose academic and intellectual credentials are unquestioned and I’m afraid that can no longer be said of him."

The Indian government has swung its full support behind Dr Pachauri, but many of the chairman's former allies now believe that he should resign in order to avert a clash between India and the IPCC.

The BBC reported that Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, the eminent British climatologist, is among those who now believe that Dr Pachauri has no alternative but to step down.

Greenpeace said in February that Dr Pachauri's resignation and the installation of a new leader would restore confidence in the IPCC.

A damning report into the running of the UN climate change panel by the independent InterAcademy Council recommend last month that the chairman should serve only one six-year-term at a time and called for checks on conflicts of interest by board members.

The review did not comment specifically on Dr Pachauri's tenure but the one-term recommendation would force the current chairman's out of office if accepted, as he is already serving his second term.

Dr Pachauri has also come under scrutiny because of his other role leading The Energy Research Institute (Teri), a think tank promoting sustainable development.

Questions have been raised about "conflicts of interest", with some arguing that Dr Pachauri had a vested interest in proving climate change by business dealings with carbon trading companies. However he was cleared on any financial wrongdoing recently by an independent review.

The 70-year-old has also hit the headlines for ‘steamy novels’ he penned while travelling the world in his demanding job.