| August 30, 2010 |  |
High-level Committee Issues Recommendations for Improving IPCC Reports
An independent panel of scientists and other experts released a report today recommending new policies to improve Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports on climate change. The InterAcademy Council—an association of science academies around the world—convened the panel at U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri’s request after a handful of errors were discovered in the IPCC’s most recent report, issued in 2007.
Below is a statement by James McCarthy, board chair of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a biological oceanography professor at Harvard University. McCarthy also is a former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a co-chair of the 2001 IPCC report.
“The panel’s review was thorough and candid and included some important recommendations. The suggestions will help the IPCC to become more methodical and meticulous in combing through its reports to ensure they’re error free.
“In addition, the panel’s recommendation that the IPCC appoint a new executive director for each assessment is not unreasonable. A new executive director would provide a fresh set of eyes to oversee the day-to-day operations.”
Below is a statement by Peter Frumhoff, UCS’s director of science and policy and a lead author of two IPCC reports.
“The panel recommended a major tune-up for the IPCC. It did say the IPCC's process for producing reports ‘has been successful overall,’ but its recommendations will strengthen the IPCC's role in providing policymakers with robust assessments of climate science.
The IPCC should seriously consider the panel's recommendations, including those that would maintain or strengthen transparency about its processes and procedures.
“Specifically, I was pleased to see the panel supports the IPCC’s careful use of gray literature, which are reports by governments and others that haven't been formally peer-reviewed, with the provision that the material be identified properly.
"It's important to note, the core conclusions of the IPCC on climate science have been confirmed by numerous independent reviews, including by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.”
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