U.S. scientist voted off international climate panel

GENEVA -- A U.S. scientist was voted off an international climate panel Friday after what campaigners claimed was pressure from the oil industry and Washington, a claim rejected by the United States.

Atmospheric scientist Robert Watson was seeking re-election as head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has been vocal in warning governments about the danger of fossil fuel emissions contributing to global warming.

Watson was defeated by Indian challenger Rajendra Pachauri, who was backed by the United States and 75 other nations. Watson received 49 votes in the ballot, said World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Mo Lagarde.

Seven nations voted for Jose Goldemberg, a Brazilian who entered the race this week.

The panel, set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.N. Environment Program, assesses and publicizes information on man-made climate change.

Environmental groups have accused the Bush administration of caving in to a request from Exxon Mobil that it try to remove Watson.

"The fossil fuel industry and the U.S. government will be celebrating their success in kicking out Bob Watson, an experienced scientist who understood that urgent action is needed to tackle global climate change," said Kate Hampton, international climate coordinator for British-based Friends of the Earth.

"The Bush administration and its friends would rather shoot the messenger than listen to the message," Hampton said in a statement.

The Swiss-based Worldwide Fund for Nature said it was worried by the "apparent politicization" of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"WWF is concerned that oil and gas interests had too much to say in the removal of Dr. Watson as chairman of what should be an impartial, scientific body," said Jennifer Morgan, director of WWF's climate program.

Harlan Watson, who headed the U.S. delegation in Geneva, told The Associated Press he "wouldn't give any weight to some kind of a campaign."

"The United States was just one of 76 countries that voted for Pachauri," he said. "We weren't against Dr. Watson. We were for Dr. Pachauri, who is an eminently qualified individual" having previously served as vice chairman of the climate panel.

"For the first time, the developing countries brought forward a very strong candidate and we felt it was time for them to be given a chance," he said.

Two weeks ago, the Natural Resources Defense Council, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, said the White House's Council on Environmental Quality received a memo from Exxon Mobil in February 2001 that asked, "Can Watson be replaced now, at the request of the U.S.?"