The interviewer is Saeed Naqvi,a well known veteran Indian journalist and - Pachauri's schoolmate! He calls his old friend Pachy! This intimacy, I believe, allowed him to conduct the interview in the manner that he did.This was done for the Indian news channel News X. The video is in 4 parts and I have provided a partial transcript after each part of the most interesting morsels plus the remarkable bits.However don't just read the text, watch the damn thing.It's worth it for the unexpected drama.I have highlighted the really fascinating parts -made so by the surprising interventions of Naqvi- by a yellow highlight.
Video -Saeed Naqvi in Conversation with R K Pachauri Part 1-
Partial transcript -
On criticism leveled by Jonathan Leake,science and environment editor of the Times-
Naqvi -Are you trying to say that the science editor(Leake) of the Times is part of a big diabolical conspiracy against you?WTF!!Does Pachauri have a colonial hangover?
Pachauri - Well, they are against anything to do with action against climate change.They are a bunch of skeptics.They are supported by lobbies...
Naqvi - Times of London is part of the skeptic...
Pachauri - Well of course,well of course. I mean you have people of this shade of opinion all over the world.They exist in London. London is still not ruling the empire.
Sliming the skeptics-
Pachauri - And I'm certainly not going to listen to the likes of these people.Their job, possibly, at the bidding of their masters who probably have a lot of money and vested interests..
Pachauri - I think the likes of Lord Monckton don't count at all.People laugh at him wherever he goes. I mean he can't collect ten people to address an audience anywhere except those who are known adherents..
Pachauri - Yes, but what I'd like to say is that who's going to see that climate change and action against the threat of climate change is going to reduce their profits is obviously going to be against the science of climate change.I mean what happened in the case of tobacco.I mean they continued to question the science, they even tried to demolish those who were trying to spread the sense that came from the science only because they didn't want to lose their markets, they didn't want to lose their profits..the same thing is happening over here.
Video -Saeed Naqvi in Conversation with R K Pachauri Part 2-
Pachauri sounds like a medieval court scribe writing about his sultan when discussing the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.In fact he sounds so sycophantic that I felt embarrassed-
Pachauri- Well I don't have to persuade him.Our Prime Minister is an extremely intelligent, enlightened and learned person.He not only has a mind, he has a heart and he has a soul.He's a person of enormous talent, enormous wisdom.
I have lived and suffered under the Manmohan Singh regime for several years now and I can definitely say that Pachauri's judgment is way,way off.Makes you think -no wonder he is so wrong about Global Warming too.
Really remarkable bit-
Then Pachauri plays -while denying it -what suspiciously resembles a race-card. Disgusting.
Naqvi -Do you see a touch of racism somewhere there?
Pachauri- I wouldn't say that. I think it's for people to judge but certainly perhaps they do feel uncomfortable because I advocate and I put forward the cause of the worst affected communities in the world and these are the poorest regions in the world.So they feel taxpayer's dollars are going to be spent in Bangladesh and the Maldives and other small island states and in Africa because of the science that clearly indicates that these would be the worst victims.So it may not be racism but it clearly is something that they have against someone coming from a developing country
Pachauri's only defense could be that the interviewer led him on into it -but that is no defense at all. You may be led to the bog, it is up to you to not to jump into it.
On Al Gore-
Pachauri- That poor man has been through problems of his own ..at the hands of the same groups of people
On taking money from Carnegie foundation by using the false glacier reports -
Pachauri- Wrong, wrong. We haven't got a single penny from the Carnegie corporation. We have been in a discussion with them to fund our glacier research which incidentally I started in this institute well over a year ago with our own funds
Video -Saeed Naqvi in Conversation with R K Pachauri Part 3-
Really remarkable bit-
Naqvi - You have trimmed your beard, haven't you? That makes you look less like Rasputin
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Pachauri -Well,one keeps changing styles.I mean I'm told that I wear 1000$ suits which I don't. My tailor charges me 2200 rupees to tailor first-rate clothing and if he hears that these are...
Naqvi- but that jacket is from Seville Row
Pachauri- It's borrowed, he,he,he I don't even own it,he,he,he
So Pachauri wears an expensive jacket but it is borrowed? Wow!I'm speechless.
More on grants-
Naqvi (reading from notes)- Right! Well,here you are- you quoted IPCC report to win grant from....of 310,000 from Carnegie foundation and a large portion of 2.5 million grant from EU specifically to study humanitarian and water security impacts due to glacial losses by 2035
Pachauri- well let me..
Naqvi -these are the allegations
Pachauri- let me first clarify ..
Naqvi--And I've(not clear)
Pachauri- Ok let me first clarify ..the glaciers are melting.Now whether they melt by 2035 or 2050 is another matter.Look at the report of the ministry of environment and forests. They themselves have said that the glaciers in the Himalayas will melt in 50 years.OK,that's not the issue. The issue is that they are melting, they have serious implications for the entire subcontinent.Now we have along with 7 other partner institutions in Europe submitted a proposal which has been agreed to by the European commission. Our share of that is a little over 400,000 Euros. So it is lies..
Naqvi- But that was before the controversy
Pachauri-Ya, ya, of course, before that.
Naqvi- so now, now you mean to say that the money will not come to you?
Pachauri- no, no , it will come to us.Who's going to stop that money coming to us?Because the funding organizations are not fools.They're not going to listen to all these lies.But what I'm trying to say is there is nothing to do with the total sum of funding of over 2 million Euros which has been distributed among 8 institutions. We have 7 partners and our share is 400,000 Euros or thereabout.
Naqvi -You've got it?You've got that money?
Pachauri- No.no.We haven't got it.We'll get it gradually as the activity proceeds.But that...that project is meant to study the downstream impacts, the socio-economic impacts of the melting of the glaciers and a whole range of other factors that are going to affect water in this part of the world.As far as the Carnegie corporation is concerned we haven't got a single penny.
On his credibility-
Naqvi-Pachy, would you accept the proposition that you've lost credibility?
Pachauri- No!I don't. I mean I might have lost credibility and favor as far as the skeptics are concerned which is only a clear testimony to the fact that I'm effective.
Video -Saeed Naqvi in Conversation with R K Pachauri Part 4-
More on the skeptics-
Naqvi- Who are these skeptics?
Pachauri-Well, as I said, those who see a threat to the big profits..
Naqvi-Name them
Pachauri-Well, you can think of some fossil fuel companies , you can think of those who are in the business of exporting fossil fuels...er,and of course those who earn a living from let's say the automobile industry, the highway lobby and so on. There are coal companies that are involved.And I'm not going to name individuals because I don't want to get down to that level.But this is an organized block of vested interests who as I said earlier, like in the case of smoking and the link with lung cancer fought tooth and nail and tried to damage reputations.They're trying to do that here.
Really remarkable bit-
Naqvi- No,if you elaborated in your words you obviously,Pachy, you instead from what I can see in this conversation that instead of being humbled by the controversy you have decided to fight your way out of it
Pachauri- Well, of course.The truth is on my side.
On Chinese skepticism-
Pachauri- But let me tell you something.Look at all the studies that have been carried on the Chinese side of the Himalayas.They all point to very rapid melting .So what's so miraculous about this part of the Himalayas..
Naqvi- In fact I have a..I have a remarkable statement by one of the Chinese scientist who says we must.. In fact he himself is very skeptical.He says don't give up the possibility that we may be exaggerating human intervention as the only cause for climate change
Pachauri-He's not a scientist.He's a political official.Please don't label him as a scientist.He's the vice-chairman of the economic and development reforms commission of China.
Really remarkable bit-
I hope are you sleeping easy-
Pachauri- Worldwide people are baffled by that(Chinese) statement.
Naqvi-So you my dear friend Pachy, my old school friend I'm well....you have obviously decided to pull no punches and I hope are you sleeping easy?
Pachauri-I'm sleeping easy
Absolutely fascinating stuff -
Naqvi-Travel less and go into the Himalayas and reflect upon the mistakes you've made
Pachauri- I've not made any mistake. I accept responsibility for the one mistake on the Himalayan Glaciers, otherwise I can tell you the IPCC would not have reached this level of effectiveness and credibility were it not for the fact that we have done a very good job and that's why people are feeling threatened and that's why they are trying to hit me
Naqvi-Ha,ha Thank you,thank you very much.
Pachauri-Thanks
I love Naqvi's advice to Pachauri-
go into the Himalayas and reflect upon the mistakes you've made
I will make just a few observations -I'm too sleepy and tired to properly fisk Pachauri right now(I hope someone does it and save me the bother)-
1) Pachauri wears really expensive suits but they are borrowed(don't laugh!)
2) His friends call him Pachy!
3) The interview seems to have been conducted at TERI - see the background.There is a LCD monitor running apparently for no reason all through the interview.Pachauri makes no effort to turn it off and save some electricity. But then he also prefers a large Toyota over the small electric Reva.
4) Pachauri seems to believe that the Himalayan glaciers will be gone in 40 years
5) By the end the interviewer left a sense of "What bollocks!" hanging in the air. I don't think Pachy expected this of an old friend.Et tu, Naqvi!
That's it -I'm off to bed!
Bump-
changed "50 years" to "40 years" in observation(4)above since Pachauri says 2050.My mistake.
Update -
EUReferendum does some of the required fisking.
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