United Nations climate chief resigns amid sexual harassment allegation

The head of the United Nations body studying climate change resigned Tuesday amid allegations that he sexually harassed an employee.

Rajendra Pachauri has denied the charges that he repeatedly harassed a 29-year-old woman at his research institute in Delhi, India, The Guardian reported.

{mosads}Nonetheless, Pachauri told the U.N. that the case means he cannot fully commit to his duties leading the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“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 am unable to provide,” Pachauri told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his resignation letter.

He thanked the scientists who have worked on the IPCC’s various landmark reports on climate change and pledged to continue his mission of protecting the world’s environment.

Ismail El Gizouli, the IPCC’s acting chairman, will fill in for the position until October, when a previously scheduled election will take place, The Guardian said.

The IPCC has been responsible for decades for studying climate change and submitting reports to the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is responsible for crafting international agreements to fight global warming.

The body last year completed its fifth report on climate change, a three-part series. The most recent report concluded that climate change would cause “severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts” if it goes unchecked.