IPCC: Inglorious Basterds

Reputation is fed by many things, but key among them are credibility, trust and track record.

• Are you/is your company/NGO/government believable? Do you present information with transparency and/or supporting evidence? Do you have the support of others (whom also enjoy high credibility)? Are you/is your information credible?
• Are you honest in your claims? Do you share important information or keep that information from us? Do you admit your errors? Are you trustworthy?
• What is your history with regard to the above? What is our experience of our interactions with you? Have you done this before/is your behaviour consistent? What is your track record?

If the emails and press reports are to be believed, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests an interesting study of how to destroy one’s reputation in three easy steps. This is how the strategy appears to unfold:

1. First, disparage and intimidate non-believers (as if what you do were a religion). Claim “voodoo science” of anyone who disputes your hypotheses. Oh sorry, that’s right, despite being scientists, do away with old fashioned hypotheses and just make statements of fact without research, without peer review. (Now that’s standard procedure in PR, but hardly the realm of science.)
2. Don’t forget to lie. Falsify the results of tests to support your statements, irrespective of the science. Conspire with cronies to hide the facts, to build upon the lie.
3. Do it consistently over a period of time to ensure your message and only your message gets through. Brook no dissension in the ranks.

The IPCC seems to have cried wolf where there was no wolf; said the sky was falling in and it wasn’t; said the emperor has new clothes, but he was in fact naked – all to feed a political – and increasingly apparent financial agenda. Its contempt for the common man in perpetuating claims without foundation, is scandalous. My favourite debunking comes from Michael R. Fox, Ph.D in Hawaii. It should have been given a great deal more light when it was written in 2007. For the latest climategate revelations see the Telegraph UK, The Daily Mail, and for an excellent scientific analysis, try The Smoking Gun at Darwin Zero.

How sad it is that such prominent academics appear to have manipulated results specifically to support their claims. This goes against the very foundations of science itself. Indeed, how sad for the world if carbon emissions have increased dramatically; if in fact humankind is to blame for massive increases in emissions; if the glaciers are going to disappear; if ocean temperatures are heating up irrevocably. The damage the IPCC has done to the very cause it is said to support is irreparable. As one who believed, I am horrified these people still hold any kind of public position.

There are many examples of prominent individuals, companies and government bodies making serious errors of judgement and paying the price. But more often than not, reputational recovery awaits. The timing of the error, the status of our moral compass, the passage of time, the contrition and penance of the subject, whether intended or accidental – all can contribute to the recovery or otherwise of a reputational crisis.

Even if proved right in its claims, I don’t believe the IPCC can recover its reputation from this most egregious of errors; the damage to climate science and the reputations of climate scientists worldwide is too great.

The core issue here is this was no accident. The fraud (as it appears to be) was deliberate. The IPCC appears to have duped a global public; a majority of governments and their citizens. It instilled fear and doubt in millions of people about their corporations, their government policies, their future. It hurt business and businesses, with a great deal more to come had someone not stopped the merry-go-round when they did. The whistleblower of the year has to be the hacker who gave us the emails.

It is nothing short of laughable for governments to still hang policy based on anything from the IPCC. The IPCC is now completely devoid of credibility and trust, and a track record of deception is being revealed almost daily. The only course of action forthwith is the immediate disbanding of the IPCC before it does further damage. It follows that a similar course of action for an emissions trading scheme awaits.

If for any reason you still harbour belief in the concept of man-made climate change, this Telegraph article of December 20th is essential reading.

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Tags: climate change, climategate, corporate behaviour, ethics, featured, inglorious basterds, IPCC, ipcc fraud, Rajendra Pachauri, TATA, Telegraph

Category: CSR & Sustainability, Reputation Management