The head of the U.N. climate science panel resigned Tuesday amid sexual harassment claims against him that have come to light at a crucial time for the climate agenda. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2002, has denied the claims, saying that his email account and mobile telephone had been hacked. However, Pachauri tendered his resignation with immediate effect Tuesday in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The IPCC needs strong leadership and dedication of time and full attention by the Chair in the immediate future, which under the current circumstances I may be unable to provide," Pachauri said in the letter. The IPCC announced that Deputy Chair Ismail El Gizouli will replace Pachauri, who was granted Monday official "relief from arrest" for three days as Indian police investigate the complaint.
