London: Indian scientist Rajendra Pachauri has refused to apologise for a mistake in a 2007 climate change report and hit out at his critics, declaring "the larger picture is solid".
"The larger picture is solid, it's convincing and it's extremely important. How can we lose sight of what climate change is going to do this planet? What it's already done to the planet?" Pachauri was quoted saying on Wednesday.
Pachauri, who has been targeted by some British papers for personal attacks based on his lifestyle, also rejected allegations that he wore expensive suits as "ridiculous".
Pachauri, who chairs the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change, said he will not resign over a mistake in a key climate change report that claimed Himalayan glaciers would melt away by 2035.
"You can't expect me to be personally responsible for every word in a 3,000-page report," the scientist told The Guardian in an interview published on Wednesday.
"I don't do too many populist things, that's why I'm so unpopular with a certain section of society."
He dismissed claims of a second error about Amazon destruction, saying they were the result of a "factory" of people "only there to create pinpricks and get attention".
"The reality is that in several parts of the world, which will be influenced by the impacts of climate change, it's an unfortunate fact that we just don't have peer-reviewed material available."
About a recent report in a British newspaper that he wore $1,000 (about Rs 45,000) suits and lived a lavish lifestyle, he said: "It's ridiculous and it's a bunch of lies."
"There is a tailor who stitches all my suits for Rs 2,200," he said, adding his salary was fixed in the range of Rs 190,000 (2,600 pounds) a month.
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