U.N. orders review of climate data

UNITED NATIONS, March 11 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an independent review of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Climate issues came under fire when the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in January it made errors in reports saying the Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035, which the U.N. body used in its 2007 data on the affects of climate change.

Ban joined IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri at a news conference calling for the review to ensure the transparency, accuracy and objectivity of the latest findings. Pachauri, however, added the IPCC report was "robust" and that its "major conclusions of that report are really beyond any reasonable doubt."

Ban appointed the InterAcademy Council, an international scientific panel, to review the processes of the IPCC and "strengthen the quality of its reports," the U.N. news agency reports.

The United Nations will fund the effort but Ban stressed the review will be "completely" independent of the United Nations.