Senior Chinese climatologist calls for reform of IPCC

Lü Xuedu says Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a young institution that needs to strengthen its credibility

The deputy director general of the China National Climate Centre Lü Xuedu has called for reform of the IPCC. Photograph: Franz Dejon/IISD

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) should be reformed to prevent political interference, improve research and reduce western bias, a senior Chinese climatologist has told the Guardian.

Lü Xuedu, the deputy director general of the National Climate Centre and a Chinese delegate to the Copenhagen conference, said the use of flawed projections about the speed of melting of Himalayan glaciers and recent allegations that scientists blocked criticism proved there are problems with the way some IPCC documents are assessed and checked.

Although he stressed support for the IPCC, of which China is an active participant, Lü said the young institution needed to strengthen its credibility.

"The IPCC is still in a developing stage. It cannot be perfect or complete. It needs reform, especially after problems were exposed," he said. "Some scientists take a political stance and wear coloured glasses, which means they do not look at issues in a comprehensive and objective way. The managing institute, authors and contributors of the assessment reports should be more objective in order to be more convincing." Read more.