Pachauri has full backing of Indian govt: Ramesh

New Delhi: R.K. Pachauri might be facing heat against the backdrop of the critical review by an independent UN-appointed panel of the IPCC headed by him, but the top climate expert has full backing of the Indian government.

"Pachauri has full support from the government," said Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh a day after the InterAcademy Council (IAC) submitted its report on the working of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),

seeking reforms in its functioning.

The UN-ordered probe into the working of Pachauri-led IPCC suggested that the body should initiate comprehensive reforms of its structure to prevent errors in its analysis such as the ones in its 2007 reports on the melting of Himalayan glaciers.

Pachauri, who is facing criticism for such errors, has however already made it clear that there was no question of quitting and that he would remain with the IPCC till its fifth report is produced in 2014.

"At the moment, my mandate is very clear. I have to complete the fifth assessment and now I feel I have an additional responsibility in seeing that the reforms are carried forward on the strength of the IAC recommendations," the UN climate chief said.

This is not the first time the government has backed Pachauri as the chief of the IPCC at the highest level.

In February too, the government had supported him despite criticism of the goof-up in IPCC reports that glaciers will melt by 2035, a claim later found to be false.

"The government supports him (Pachauri) to the hilt," Ramesh had said then.

In its report, the IAC committee recommended cutting down the tenure of chair of the IPCC, which currently consists of two six-year terms.

The committee, however, stressed that its present conclusion was not based on media reports that had raised questions about Pachauri's earnings from his consultancies with carbon trading companies and calls by some groups that he should resign.

Pachauri emphasised that the recommendations would have to be debated by the 194 governments of the IPCC at the upcoming meeting in Busan, South Korea in October. He also said that he would not quit unless asked by the full meeting of the 194-member panel.