the world's top climate scientists, part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc), have toned down the worst possible forecast for global warming over the next 100 years, claims The Weekend Australian. But both experts and the ipcc have criticised the reportage, saying it is riddled with prejudices and that it is premature to analyse the forthcoming ipcc report, as it may undergo several changes.

The newspaper claims to have "exclusively' obtained the draft of the fourth assessment report by ipcc, which projects a scenario "less gloomy' than that offered in ipcc's third assessment report. ipcc was set up in 1988 by two un bodies, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to assess the "risk of human-induced climate change'. ipcc reports are widely cited in any debate related to climate change. Publication of its fourth assessment report is planned for early 2007.

The news report, which appeared on September 2, says that in the draft, " ipcc scientists are confident enough to project a 3