Climate Change mitigation by solar radiation management big illusion: Dr van Ypersele.

ISLAMABAD -- Former vice-chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and award-winning science commentator, Prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele who is also a candidate for the upcoming IPCC chair election said that solar radiation management was a premature technology and had huge risks associated to it.

"It is a big illusion to think that strategies to mitigate climate changes can be simply replaced by adopting solar radiation management," he emphasized.

In an exclusive interview with reporter, Dr Jean-Pascal van Ypersele said the IPCC, in its past three reports, had warned on the potential impacts of solar radiation management.

The former IPCC vice-chair vowed to transform the global climate science forum into the world's strongest and rigorous global voice of climate change. Prof. van Ypersele is contesting for the chairmanship of the IPCC for the second time. Earlier, he lost the polls to the Republic of Korea's Hoesung Lee and had managed to receive the second highest votes. Prof. van Ypersele has the official support of the Belgian government for his candidacy.

He has experience of four decades in climate science and diplomacy. He remained IPCC vice-chair from 2008-2015 and has been active at the forum since 1995. Prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele said he had set a clear cut agenda of taking the IPCC to new heights of excellence and glory as the global environmental body.

He said it is a useful and relevant body for all kinds of decision makers including businesses, policy makers, media, teachers and common people etc. Prof. van Ypersele said the decisions taken by the relevant stakeholders had serious repercussions and impacts that needed to be guided through proper and accurate science based data. He also expressed his intentions to turn the institution into an all inclusive institution.

Dr. van Ypersele said the IPCC is an intergovernmental organisation involving a variety of scientists who know the reality of their regions and that it was important to involve as many developing country scientists as possible so that the IPCC could have a holistic view of both the climate challenges and its solutions.

He mentioned that he had the experience of working in an inclusive manner whereas inclusivity according to him meant in particular gender equality and a better developing country scientists' participation. Moreover, he also underlined the need to create better balance between young scientists who had innovative and new ideas and...