Pachauri must resign as head of UN climate panel

The Competitive Enterprise Institute today called on Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri to resign as chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the grounds that his political activism fatally compromises his IPCC responsibilities. 

Dr. Pachauris actions are those of a policy advocate, not an objective official, said Iain Murray, Senior Fellow in International Policy.  The world can no longer rely on him for accurate and unbiased analysis. 

Dr. Pachauri recently served as scientific adviser for a report written by a consortium of American, British, and Australian leftist advocacy groups.  The report, entitled Meeting the Climate Challenge, makes outlandish scientific claims that are not supported by the IPCCs previous publications and recommends a number of ineffective and economically unsound policies. 

Political activism is entirely inappropriate for the chairman of the IPCC.  Dr. Pachauri has abused his official position, which carries great responsibilities, and thereby forfeited the publics trust, said Myron Ebell, Director of Global Warming Policy.    

 Dr. Pachauri has a history of associating himself with left-wing advocacy. He provided a foreword to an alarmist report from the United Kingdoms New Economics Foundation and told Reuters that he hoped the next IPCC report, due in 2007, would produce a much stronger message for the world.

 Last week, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane scientist Chris Landsea resigned from the IPCCs Fourth Assessment Report in protest at a senior IPCC scientists decision to utilize the media to push an unsupported agenda that recent hurricane activity has been due to global warming.  Dr. Pachauri did nothing to address Dr. Landseas concerns.

Under Dr. Pachauris leadership, the IPCC appears institutionally biased towards unscientific conclusions that support a particular political agenda, said Murray.