John Houghton on IPCC Transparency

"The work of the IPCC illustrates the following five important features which I believe should characterize the scientific assessments that form an input to policy making....

"...Thirdly, all parts of the assessment process need to be completely open and transparent. IPCC documents including early drafts and review comments have been freely and widely available - adding much to the credibility of the process and its conclusions."

-- John Houghton, "An Overview of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Its Process of Science Assessment," Issues in Environmental Science and Technology, No. 17, Global Environmental Change (2002), p. 6.

Houghton, of course, was the lead editor of the first three IPCC Assessment Reports. (Via Bishop Hill) This policy was changed last May at the IPCC 33rd Meeting in Abu Dhabi (see section 8 of this IPCC document), writing only that "issues related to confidentiality of draft reports is important...."