By Samantha Hayes
Leading scientists who have worked on the United Nations climate change reports have called for the body which produces them to be scrapped.
It comes after UN projections about the speed that glaciers were melting were found to be flawed.
The prestigious science journal Nature published the calls for change today.
Climate scientists have faced embarrassment after embarrassment in recent months. For example, Michael Mann was accused of tampering with climate data to produce his famous 'hockey stick' graph. He has since been cleared of any wrongdoing, but it's bad publicity like this, and the flawed prediction the Himalayan glaciers would totally melt by 2035, which has brought calls from the UN's own scientists to scrap the IPCC - the body which analyses the world's climate data.
"It was suggested that the IPCC should be disbanded completely," says Prof Glenn McGregor of Auckland University. "It's archaic, it's not fit for purpose."
A lead author from the 2001 report, Mike Hulme, says in journal Nature that, "The IPCC needs a complete overhaul. The structure and process are past their sell-by dates."
John Christy says, "Since 1992 I have served as an IPCC contributor and in 2001, as a lead author. My experience has left me of the firm conviction that the IPCC should be removed from UN oversight."
But New Zealand climate scientists, who have also worked on IPCC reports, disagree with the calls for change.
"I think there's no basis for scrapping it," says Dr Andy Reisinger. "You don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and dismantle the bath as well - you just have to make sure you do what you're meant to do."
Sceptics say this latest backlash is evidence from within that the IPCC needs to be massively overhauled. But supporters say all that's needed are tighter checks and controls to improve the findings.
The next report is due out in 2014.
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