UN chief Ban Ki-moon has asked the officials gathered at the environment ministerial meeting in Bali to reject attempts by climate skeptics who question the existence of climate change especially after the controversy surrounding the errors that have surfaced.
"I urge you to reject the last-ditch attempts by climate skeptics to derail your negotiations by exaggerating shortcomings in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report," Ban said.
"Tell the world that you unanimously agree that climate change is a clear and present danger, that you are working to implement agreements already made and that you are continuing negotiations under the UNFCCC to address climate change according to the demands of current scientific information," he added.
The 2007 report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change erroneously claimed that Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035. The error has also been attributed to a typographical error with the words 2035 appearing instead of 2350.
Since the error surfaced there have been several calls for investigations into the work of the IPCC and resignations of its head Rajendra Pachauri, which he has refused to do.
"Some in media, and those who are sceptical about climate change, are currently having a field day, parsing every comma and cough in the IPCC 2007 assessment," Achim Steiner, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) had noted.
