U-N's climate panel under review
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A respected international scientific body will review the UN's climate panel, following criticism for errors in a key report on global warming. The UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says the review will be carried out by the Inter-Academy Council, which brings together the presidents of 15 leading science academies. The IAC will do the review completely independently of the UN. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon also defended the work of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Professor David Karoly, lead author, IPCC 2007 report
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KAROLY: There have been two errors identified in the report published in 2007 by the IPCC. These two errors are relatively minor errors and it should be understood that the assessment report is more than three-thousand pages long. But there has been a wide range of additional media misinformation spread about other supposed areas which do not in fact exist. But the misinformation being spread in the blogosphere and in media reports indicates that there is a need for an independent assessment of the IPCC's procedures for both completing its review and receiving comments and review of its assessment. So this independent review is in fact welcomed both by the inter-governmental panel on climate change, and also by the scientists involved and lead authors to confirm that its review procedures and the procedures for its assessment are both open, transparent and robust, and that its assessments do provide the best assessments of climate change science information.
LAM: The IPCC of course has several thousand scientists working on it. Is it too unwieldy or do you think the IPCC chair, Rajendra Pachauri has done a reasonable job in keeping it altogether?
KAROLY: Well it's not Dr Pachauri's role to keep it altogether, in fact he is chair of the IPCC but in fact most of the work of the IPCC is coordinated through three separate working groups; a working group with its separate technical support unit on climate change science, a second one on the impact and adaptation to climate change, and a third one on mitigation and economic measures. So Dr Pachauri is if you like the overall chairperson of the IPCC, but alll the work and activities are undertaken through the three separate working groups. The procedures are established and approved by the inter-governmental panel on climate change, which is the government representative. And Dr Pachauri just coordinates those meetings and chairs the meetings of the government representatives, one from each of more than 120 countries. He does not play a role in writing the assessments.
LAM: You made mention of misrepresentation by the world media, and yet one of the criticisms is that the IPCC has never made its findings digestible to the wider public. Is that a fair assessment or do you think that's not its role?
KAROLY: Well it is important that the inter-governmental panel on climate change makes its assessment digestible to the policy makers, the government representatives, and they work very, very hard to ensure that its summaries for policy makers of the different working group reports, are digestible as easily as possible. But it is true that in terms of communication of its results to the public the IPCC has not seen that as its core role. Rather it sees its core role as undertaking these scientific assessments and then communicating that information to policy makers.
LAM: Moving further afield but on a related matter, many people are very cynical about the climate change talks and they thought that Copenhagen last December did not really achieve much. What should be done do you think before Mexico in November to get a more favourable outcome?
KAROLY: Well favourable outcome is obviously a subjective statement, favourable to whom?
LAM: Well I suppose a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol if you like?
KAROLY: Sure, sure now I understand the question because obviously favourable to fossil fuel producers would be to have no emission reductions, but if you're meaning favourable in terms of the objectives or the UN framework convention on climate change, then the outcome is one in which the world's governments decide to follow the information provided in the IPCC assessments, that in order to minimise dangerous climate change or minimise the risk of dangerous climate change, then substantial greenhouse gas emissions reductions are required urgently. And that information was provided in the last assessment report of the IPCC, and it is clear that the outcome from the Copenhagen meeting last year is insufficient in terms of greenhouse gas emissions reductions to meet the objective of the UN framework convention to minimise the risk of dangerous climate change. So further global greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments are required from all countries.
LAM: Well do you agree then with the Indonesian Foreign Minister who notes that there should be or there needs to be a building of trust between governments as they approach Mexico?
KAROLY: It is certainly clear that all countries need to be involved in a global agreement on emission reductions, and the only way that that can happen is if all countries build trust and all countries agree to their proportionate shares in greenhouse gas emission reductions. The UN framework convention provides clear guidance on what is a fair and equitable approach and the developed countries, like Australia need to take the lead in greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
