Peking University. Beijing. May 12, 2010: On May 3, the International Academy Council (IAC) initiated an independent review of IPCC at the behest of the UN secretary general. IAC announced economist Harold T. Shapiro, former president of the University of Michigan and Princeton, as the chairman of the 12-memeber review panel, whose mission is to independently investigate into the procedures and processes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Academician Fang Jingyun of PKU was appointed a member of the panel.

Review panel will investigate IPCC’s practice, including data quality assurance and control, references of IPCC's report, treatment of scientific opinions, and the correction of occurring mistakes. Additionally, the general process of IPCC, including management skills and communication strategies, will also be reviewed.

This work is of great significance and will have a major impact on UN as well as the scientific community. It will also help "ensure that the future report of IPCC is based on a solid scientific ground, and at the same time enhance the confidence of governments and the public in its conclusions and predictions", as stated by IAC Co-Chair, CAS President Lu Yongxiang.

The 12 appointed staff members of the panel are of the top scientific researchers around the world, specializing in climate science, atmospheric science, ecology, chemistry, physics, economics and other fields (see list below).

Academician Fang Jingyun mainly engages in researches in global change ecology, vegetation ecology, biodiversity and biogeography, and the application in remote sensing in ecology, etc. In 2009, commissioned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he took charge of "Our strategy to address global climate change research", a major consulting project of the Faculty Advisory Review Committee, CAS. When the related proposals were submitted to the State Council, the central leadership showed great attention.

International Academy Council (IAC) was established in May 2000 and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. IAC is co-chaired by CAS President Lu Yongxiang and Dr. Robbert Dijkgraaf, Dean of Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and Arts. IAC aims to mobilize and organize the world's top scientific groups to concern about issues including the global and regional economic globalization, reducing poverty, fight hunger and disease, and sustainable natural resources, and to provide scientific advice and recommendations to organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, the World Bank and other international organizations as well as national governments.

For more detailed information, please visit:

http://reviewipcc.interacademycouncil.net/index.html

Biography of Review Panel Members:

Harold T. Shapiro is an economist and former president of Princeton University and the University of Michigan.

Roseanne Diab is an executive officer of the Academy of Science of South Africa, professor emeritus of environmental sciences and honorary senior research associate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, a scientific director of the Foundation for the Support of Research in the State of S？o Paulo, Brazil, professor at the Gleb Wataghin Physics Institute at the University of Campinas.

Maureen Cropper, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, senior fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C., former lead economist at the World Bank.

Jingyun Fang, a Cheung Kong professor and chair of the Department of Ecology, Peking University.

Louise Fresco, University Professor, University of Amsterdam, and former assistant director-general at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Syukuro Manabe, senior meteorologist of Tokyo University and currently, Princeton University.

Goverdhan Mehta, a National Research Professor and Bhatnagar Fellow, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Nobel laureate Mario J. Molina (co-winner of 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), professor at the University of California, San Diego, creator of a center in Mexico City for strategic studies of energy and the environment.

Peter Williams, honorary treasurer and vice president of the Royal Society, London, chancellor of the University of Leicester, chairman of the National Physical Laboratory.

Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, secretary general, Human Frontier Science Program, Germany.

Abdul Hamid Zakri, senior adviser to the prime minister of Malaysia, and Tuanku Chancellor Chair, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Translated by: LI Xiaomeng

Edited by: Jennifer Yan

Source: PKU News (Chinese)