The U.N. will appoint an independent board of scientists to review the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the embattled U.N. climate body charged with evaluating the risk of climate change caused by human activity, reports Reuters.
The IPCC has been under fire from critics and supporters alike for its sloppy work in its latest assessment. The report, released in 2007, made inaccurate statements on the condition of Himalayan glaciers, the extent of the Netherlands that face flooding risk from rising seas, and agriculture in Africa. The mistakes — combined with a scandal involving leaked emails from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia — has shaken public support for action on climate change.
The independent board will be part of a broader review of the IPPC that may prohibit the use of so-called “grey literature” — research not published in peer-reviewed journals — in reports. However Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP, told reporters on Monday at a climate change meeting in Bali, Indonesia that he did not support such a ban.
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