NEW YORK // The UN's climate change panel should "fundamentally reform" its procedures and structure to avoid a repeat of the errors contained in its 2007 global warming study, according to a review. Envoys of the world's science academies yesterday published their report on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), highlighting flaws in the way the UN's Nobel prize-winning environmental team does its work.
The IPCC should base predictions only on solid scientific evidence, be more selective about data and allow more alternative viewpoints. The probe, by the InterAcademy Council, said the IPCC was "successful overall" and did not challenge the group's core finding - that world leaders should tackle climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The council called for management reforms, including shortening the 12-year term limit for the chairman.
The review was launched after a series of revelations undermined the IPCC's credibility, including a scandal involving leaked e-mails critics say showed the group had skewed data. The panel's 2007 study was acknowledged to have exaggerated the pace of Himalayan glaciers melting and overstated how much of the Netherlands is below sea level. @Email:jreinl@thenational.ae