Tweet
</span></span> 
Rajendra Pachauri faced calls to resign over doubts on the IPCC's science in September
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has adopted new guidelines on dealing with scientific uncertainty following criticism of its 2007 report.
But the panel's meeting in South Korea closed with many other reforms proposed in a recent review being passed to committees for further consideration.
Chairman Rajendra Pachauri confirmed his intention to stay in post until the next assessment is published in 2014.
Dr Pachauri said the talks marked a milestone in the panel's history.
"The IPCC is 22 years old, it's evolved and seen a number of changes; but in the past few years we've also seen major changes in the global context in which it works," he said.
"The decisions made here in Busan send a clear message - we need to get to work and we need to do much better than ever before, and to work harder than ever before," he said.
The new guidance on uncertainties is aimed at preventing too much confidence being ascribed to conclusions where evidence is scarce.
In its recent review, the InterAcademy Council (IAC) - an umbrella group for the world's science academies - highlighted a case in the 2007 assessment where studies projecting rapidly declining in crop yields in Africa were given more weight than they merited, in the absence of supporting evidence.
Enhanced guidance on the use of "grey literature" - material not published in peer-reviewed scientific journals - has also been drawn up, and will be finalised by chairs of the IPCC's working groups in the coming months.
The IAC also recommended that the IPCC reform its management, by taking on a full-time executive director to complement the part-time role of the chair, and by establishing an executive committee that could make decisions in periods between full meetings.
However, these proposals have been given to a committee for further discussions, with the aim of reaching agreement at the next full meeting in May 2011.
The IPCC is charged by the UN system with producing regular systematic evaluations of global climate change and its implications. The next assessment will be the fifth since the panel's inception.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Rajendra Pachauri faced calls to resign over doubts on the IPCC's science in September The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has adopted new guidelines on dealing with scientific uncertainty following criticism of its 2007 report.
But the panel's meeting in South Korea closed with many other reforms proposed in a recent review being passed to committees for further consideration.
Chairman Rajendra Pachauri confirmed his intention to stay in post until the next assessment is published in 2014.
Dr Pachauri said the talks marked a milestone in the panel's history.
"The IPCC is 22 years old, it's evolved and seen a number of changes; but in the past few years we've also seen major changes in the global context in which it works," he said.
"The decisions made here in Busan send a clear message - we need to get to work and we need to do much better than ever before, and to work harder than ever before," he said.
The new guidance on uncertainties is aimed at preventing too much confidence being ascribed to conclusions where evidence is scarce.
In its recent review, the InterAcademy Council (IAC) - an umbrella group for the world's science academies - highlighted a case in the 2007 assessment where studies projecting rapidly declining in crop yields in Africa were given more weight than they merited, in the absence of supporting evidence.
Enhanced guidance on the use of "grey literature" - material not published in peer-reviewed scientific journals - has also been drawn up, and will be finalised by chairs of the IPCC's working groups in the coming months.
The IAC also recommended that the IPCC reform its management, by taking on a full-time executive director to complement the part-time role of the chair, and by establishing an executive committee that could make decisions in periods between full meetings.
However, these proposals have been given to a committee for further discussions, with the aim of reaching agreement at the next full meeting in May 2011.
The IPCC is charged by the UN system with producing regular systematic evaluations of global climate change and its implications. The next assessment will be the fifth since the panel's inception.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.