UN scientist denies sexual harassment claims

India’s Rajendra Pachauri has stepped down as chair of the UN panel of climate scientists, ending 13 turbulent years in charge after allegations of sexual harassment, which he has denied.

Pachauri, aged 74 and chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2002, pulled out of an IPCC meeting in Kenya this week after Indian police started an investigation into a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Mr Pachauri is being investigated in India after a 29-year-old woman accused him of sexually harassing her while they worked together at the New Delhi lobbying and research organisation he heads, The Energy Resources Institute.