Indian prime minister backs IPCC boss Rajendra Pachauri

Courtesy of guardian.co.uk

ndia's prime minister defended a beleaguered UN climate change body today, saying India has full confidence in the panel, despite an error in its report on global warming.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its Indian chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, have come under intense criticism for a false claim in its 2007 report that Himalayan glaciers would disappear as early as 2035. Pachauri has refused to apologise for the claim, though the IPCC has issued a statement expressing regret for the mistake.

The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, said the error did not change the facts regarding the harmful impact of greenhouse gases on the planet.

"This debate does not challenge the core projections of the IPCC about the impact of greenhouse gas accumulations on temperature, rainfall and sea-level rise," Singh told an international summit on sustainable development.

The error in the IPCC report led to sharp criticism of the panel and its chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, by scientists and sceptics worldwide who believe global warming theories are alarmist. Greenpeace has also called into question his position, though Friends of the Earth and other environment NGOs have defended him

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ipcc, moanmohan singh, rajendra pachauri