IPCC: Politics and Not Science

Pachauri confirms the assumption by the different reviews of IPCC including the last one by IAC, that IPCC is not governed by science but by politics:

• Let’s face it, we are an intergovernmental body and our strength and acceptability of what we produce is largely because we are owned by governments.
• If that was not the case, then we would be like any other scientific body that maybe producing first-rate reports but don’t see the light of the day because they don’t matter in policy-making. Now clearly, if it’s an inter-governmental body and we want governments’ ownership of what we produce, obviously they will give us guidance of what direction to follow, what are the questions they want answered. 
• Unfortunately, people have completely missed the original resolution by which IPCC was set up. It clearly says that our assessment should include realistic response strategies. If that is not an assessment of policies, then what does it represent? And I am afraid, we have been, in my view, defensive in coming out with a whole range of policies and I am not saying we prescribe policy A or B or C but on the basis of science, we are looking at realistic response strategies. But that is exactly what this committee has recommended that we get out of — policy prescriptions. It is for this reason that I brought out that this what is written in the IPCC mandate. This is a misperception on the part of some people in the scientific community. And I hope I can correct it.

One (small) part of  the scientific community is the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: It is now high time for the Academy to understand its misperception and withdraw its support of IPCC, since it is now completely clear that IPCC is politics and not science. Of course, if the Academy is also politics and not science, no action is necessary.