U. N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) headed by Rajendra Pachauri had faced criticism over the errors in its report regarding the melting of Himalayan glacier and United Nations directed an independent review committee to prepare an audit report on the panel.

The InterAcademy Council comprising of scientists representing agencies from around the world submitted its findings on Monday to the United Nations with recommendations for changes to the structure, methods and the leadership of the IPCC.

Harold Shapiro, chair of the IAC Committee to Review IPCC and former president of Princeton University gave the credit to IPCC for raising public awareness of climate change and influencing policy makers. "We recommend some significant reforms," he told the U. N.

Pachauri said at a press conference after the report was released that he is yet to read the recommendations and noted that none of the earlier reviews had found flaw in the panel. The scientific community agrees with the assessment that the climate change is real.

The IAC did not focus on the climate models but it analyzed the methodologies and suggested improvements. The opponents of the belief that climate change exists were given substance when the faulty report about the melting Himalayan glaciers surfaced and the skeptics criticized the IPCC.

The IAC found various statements with high level of confidence but with lack of supportive evidence. The revising of the report, tightening up and lengthy review policy would help IPCC avoid such mistakes. The IAC has recommended that IPCC to completely refresh its top leadership and limit the time for people to hold top positions.

"The IAC report makes several recommendations to fortify IPCC’s management structure, including establishing an executive committee to act on the panel’s behalf and ensure that an ongoing decision-making capability is maintained,” He said.

Shapiro further observed that the IPCC has been successful overall but it needs fundamental changes.