Zeenews Bureau
London: Reputed UK newspaper The Sunday Times has apologised for dubbing as “unsubstantiated” the claim by green campaigners that nearly 40 per cent of the Amazon rainforest faces risk from climate change.
In an article published in January this year, The Sunday Times had disputed the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) claim that upto 40% of the Amazon rainforest could be sensitive to future changes in rainfall, saying it was “unsubstantiated”.
However, the paper has now said that the claims made in the 2007 report of the IPCC, referenced to a report prepared for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) by Andrew Rowell and Peter Moore, were in fact supported by peer-reviewed scientific evidence.
The WWF report `Global Review of Forest Fires` in 2000 warned 40 per cent of the Amazon was `extremely sensitive` to small reductions in the amount of rainfall. The claim was made based on evidence from the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), which was not referenced as such in the report.
The Sunday Times apology added: "We also understand and accept that Mr Rowell is an experienced environmental journalist and that Dr Moore is an expert in forest management, and apologise for any suggestion to the contrary."
