UN's climate science panel gets South Korean boss

PARIS: South Korean climate economist Hoesung Lee has been elected to head the UN's climate science panel, replacing Rajendra Pachauri of India, who quit in February over allegations of sexual harassment.

Lee, a vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2008, was yesterday elected by peers from a short-list of six scientists which also included Belgium's Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Ogunlade Davidson of Sierra Leone and Chris Field of Stanford University.

"I am honoured and grateful that the Panel has elected me as the IPCC's new Chair," Lee, 69, said in a statement issued by the panel, which gathers scientific consensus on climate change and advises government policymakers.

"The IPCC remains deeply committed to providing policymakers with the highest quality scientific assessment of climate change, but we can do more," he added.

Lee holds a doctorate in economics, and is a professor on the economics of climate change, energy and sustainable development at Korea University's Graduate School of Energy and Environment.

The election took place at an IPCC meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia.