UN climate chief to skip key event amid sexual harassment claims
Panel chairman facing harassment allegations made by two women claims his emails and phone were breached in attempt to frame him
The Indian leader of the UN's expert panel on climate change has pulled out of a key meeting in Nairobi while pledging to cooperate with New Delhi police investigating allegations of sexual harassment.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said its chairman, R.K. Pachauri, would skip this week's plenum in the Kenyan capital "because of issues demanding his attention in India".
While the organisation refused to elaborate, Pachauri is being investigated after a woman, 29, accused him of sexually harassing her while they worked at the New Delhi lobbying and research organisation he heads, The Energy Resources Institute.
Pachauri, 75, one of the world's leading voices on global warming, has denied the charges, according to a court order.
Pachauri said he would "provide all assistance and cooperation to the authorities in their ongoing investigations".
News reports said police also planned to question a second woman who made public allegations against Pachauri on Saturday but provided no evidence and filed no police complaint.