UN CLIMATE PANEL HEAD TO GO?

Abstract

THE STATE DEPARTMENT ON April 2 announced its support for Rajendra K. Pachauri, an engineer and director of the Tata Energy Research Institute in New Delhi, to head the United Nations panel that reviews research on global climate change. Robert T. Watson, atmospheric chemist and chief scientist at the World Bank, has headed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1996. He is highly regarded in the scientific community, and, according to a spokesman at the IPCC secretariat in Geneva, many countries have expressed a desire that he be reappointed. The IPCC governing body meets in mid-April to select a chairman. Watson has been an outspoken advocate of the idea that if present trends continue, climate change is likely to have dire consequences during this century, and, therefore, countries should take strong action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Energy industry lobbyists have been working for more than a year to replace Watson. In ...