The issue at hand with the IPCC is the public perception that it has a preconceived agenda and does not represent the full spectrum of scientific opinions on the causes and possible remedies for climate change. If we assume that the IPCC is not agenda driven and is merely attempting to report the most up-to-date thinking on climate science, the solution to their credibility problem is easy to implement. Publish the sources and make the raw data-set available to everyone by depositing it with an accessible and trusted third party. The UN must allow everyone to participate in the process before its reports are published. The internet gives those who will be directly affected by climate legislation a say and a diversity of opinion that must be taken into account to help vindicate the final report. As with all things political, transparency is the best practice. The IPCC must also move away from promoting policy options and stick to science based predictions and probabilities that can be verified as trends against real life published data.
These steps would go a long way to restoring the credibility of the IPCC and should not be rejected by what is supposed to be a disinterested scientific body that is only concerned with best practice.
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