More fallout from the "Climate Gate" scandal and the recent revelations regarding the shoddy science behind predictions that the Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035. India has announced that they can't rely upon the IPCC and will form their own climate research body. 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. 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. 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. Read the whole article
Good news as far as I'm concerned. The IPCC seems to have lost some of its earlier credability. Good on the Indian governement for being so brave in challanging the UN doctrine on climate science imo.
The IPCC made some gaffs that the very strident opposition is harping on, but that doesn't really mean they are presenting bad science. The glacier thing was someone quoting an article in the press, it wasn't even science. I see this as a good thing, the more scientists working on this, the better.
