India to support Pachauri as IPCC chairman

The government on Monday came to the defence of R K Pachauri, head of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is under fire for making claims on melting of Himalayan glacier, saying it had full confidence him and will "fight" any attempt to unseat him.

"We have full confidence in chairman of IPCC," Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.

The government, he said, had objected to the alarm that was created by Fourth Assessment Report of IPCC suggesting that Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035. The report was based on poorly substantiated estimates of recession. "In drafting the paragraph on the subject in question, the clear and well established standards of evidence, required by the IPCC procedures, were not applied properly," he said.

The IPCC report was used politically by certain countries to pressurise India into coming on board to make commitments to control climate change.

"India's objections to the report were upheld and we were vindicated," he said. "We are backing IPCC chairman (Pachauri) and will fight any attempt to unseat him," the minister said. Ramesh said while most Himalayan glaciers were retreating, some were advancing. Some glaciers were retreating at decelerating rate like the Gangotri glacier.

Most of the glaciers are retreating and this is a cause of concern," Ramesh said stressing on need for systematic approach and methodology to address the issue. India, he said, was committed to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change that puts responsibility of cutting emissions on developed countries who are the worst polluters.

"The government is conscious of its responsibility to take steps to address climate change at the global and national level in accordance with the principles and provisions of the United Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol," he said. India was committed to making endeavours to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 per cent by 2020 in comparison to the 2005 level through voluntary action, he said. Ramesh said the precise reason for melting of Himalayan glaciers - whether climate change or natural cyclical process - is being studied.

"We have set up a National Institute of Himalayan Glaciology at Dehradun to measure, monitor and model what is happening to our glaciers," he said adding the issue cannot be discussed in isolation and there was a need to take China, Nepal, Bhutan and at some time even Pakistan on board to prepare a common response.