The Indian media is examining the wider implications of Rajendra Pachauri’s resignation while Western journalists pretend not to see the sex scandal.

Last week, I was interviewed at length by Sarita Ravindranath, a journalist with the Indian news site, Sify.com.

She posed a series of questions about my research on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the role of green activists, and climate change in general. Rajendra Pachauri, the scandal-plagued former IPCC chairman, was also discussed.

The interview, titled ‘Pachauri is neither a Nobel nor a climate scientist’, has now been published and can be read here.

I will have a great deal to say, on another occasion, about the extraordinary manner in which the Pachauri sex scandal is being treated by journalists around the world. For now, I’ll just observe that the Indian media seems to be the only place in which its wider implications are being addressed.

A UN climate summit is going to be held in Paris this December. The purpose of that summit is to commit the entire planet to a brand new climate treaty.

The fact that the world’s most famous climate official is currently embroiled in a sex scandal is NEWS in full caps. This bloody well matters.

A dark cloud hangs over Pachauri’s head. The accusations against him are not frivolous. His alleged behaviour toward female subordinates in the workplace tells us important things about his character – and about his judgment.

If the person who has been in charge of the IPCC for the past 13 years is a slime ball with atrocious judgment, the credibility of the IPCC report that was supposed to form the bedrock of a new climate treaty is shot. It’s all over, folks.

Sooner or later, even the somnolent media is going to figure this out.

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Hilary Ostrov comments here on the fact that the website of Canada’s public broadcaster has, so far, made no mention of Pachauri’s February 24th resignation as IPCC chairman. The last time Pachauri’s name was mentioned was December 1st of last year.

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see also:

• Pachauri’s TERI: Not a Safe Place for Women (Mar. 19)
• An Open Letter to the Men of TERI (Mar. 11)
• Pachauri Talks Ethics in Gender Justice Book (Mar. 9)
• Rajendra Pachauri & International Women’s Day (Mar. 6)
• Pachauri’s Sofa (Mar. 2)
• Mumbai Columnist: ‘Creepy Crawlie’ Pachauri (Feb. 28)
• Pachauri’s Incredible Shrinking Footprint (Feb. 26)
• Pachauri Admitted to Hospital (Feb. 25)
• Rajendra Pachauri’s Resignation Letter (Feb. 24)
• Woman #2’s Story (Feb. 23)
• More Women Accuse Pachauri (Feb. 22)
• Chairman Pachauri’s Messy Messages (Feb. 21)
• Indian Court Rejects Pachauri Publication Ban (Feb. 20)
• Police Ponder Pachauri Assault & Stalking Charges (Feb. 19)
• Sex Allegations Against IPCC’s Pachauri (Feb. 18)

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Donna Laframboise is a Canadian investigative journalist and author of the 2013 book, Into the Dustbin: Rajendra Pachauri, the Climate Report & the Nobel Peace Prize. See Amazon.com, Amazon India, and other Amazon stores.

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