Guess who paid for Pachauri’s glittering book launch ceremonies:

British Petroleum!

You might wonder how a book about a climate researcher’s spiritual journey gets a launch party in New Delhi from big oil. Hidden inside this Telegraph piece are the details.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/7177323/Climate-change-research-bungle.html

“It has also emerged that Teri’s biggest single sponsor, BP India, … paid for dinner and drinks at an event publicising Dr Pachauri’s debut novel.”
It adds:

A BP spokesman said it was entirely legitimate to fund the dinner, the company having enjoyed a “long association with Dr Pachauri”.

What kind of ‘associations you might wonder? They are helpful…

“He confirmed that the firm gave Teri $9.5million (£6.1million) between 2006 and 2009 for planting 8,000 hectares of jatropha, a type of bush, as part of a bio-diesel research project.”

Who else were at this glittering galaxy, you might wonder next. Take a look at this page:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=150720&id=90519151541&ref=mf

Note amongst the peculiarly long list of luminaries – given some of the content of the book – the following names:
R.S. Sharma (Chairman ONGC) i.e of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation India
Sashi Mukundan (Country Head – India, BP Group of Companies) – the guy who footed the bill.

Who paid for the book launch in Mumbai?
HSBC.
Again you might wonder why a big bank is supporting Pachauri lit? Going through the following may help. HSBC is heavily invested in climate change.

http://www.hsbcnet.com/solutions/news/corporate/cc_bmark.html

“‘Climate change is set to be one of the defining investment opportunities in the years ahead”
Nick Robins, Head of HSBC’s Climate Change Centre of Excellence

HSBC has sunk a healthy amount of funds through its Earthwatch ‘partnership’ ventures in India. Look at this document:
http://www.earthwatch.org/europe/downloads/Our_Work/Earthwatch_HSBC_Climate_Partnership_Research_brief.pdf

Inside you’ll find scientific initiatives such as:
“Dendrometer bands. To monitor the effects of climatic variability on tree growth, dendrometer bands are attached to a subset of trees > 10 cm dbh, in each permanent sample plot…” – for the Western Ghat forests and others.

If you are wondering how a smut novel leads to a bank that nudges dendroclimatology along, you are on the right track. If you find this cited in the next Assessment Report, dont be surprised. Pachauri might be an AGW advocate and HSBC might be in the AGW business, but how does funding a smut novel launch fit even this tortured scheme? Shouldn’t it show up bad on HSBC internal audits?

Maybe we shouldn’t bother so much…

Here’s Pachauri doing HSBC a favor, at a previous date, with his trademark fear-mongering:

“Dr Pachauri cautioned that the world is moving towards a ‘climate vulnerable future’ and urged industry and business to ensure a ‘low carbon future’ without which all stakeholders will be in trouble.”

http://bcsd.teri.res.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=161&Itemid=211

Who were present at the Bombay (excuse me while I eschew the term ‘Mumbai’) book launch?
Naina Lal Kidwai – CEO HSBC India, the main sponsor.
Indu Shahani – Educationist, Sheriff of Bombay and member of the audit and corporate governance committee of HSBC
Rahul Bose – Actor

I posted previously wondering how Rahul Bose got there. Not unlike Hollywood actors, there are many in mainstream and alternative Indian cinema who feel strongly about the environment. Rahul Bose is one, too. Apparently Pachauri ran into him at Copenhagen and got him to agree to turn up at the book launch.

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/slideshow_novel-approach_1332818

If you think you’ve had enough of Pachauri, here’s the green governor of California remonstrating to Indians to clone Pachauri!
http://blog.taragana.com/e/2010/02/05/clone-pachauri-great-fan-schwarzenegger-suggests-to-india-88037/

Those of you who thought this was a harmless event about a book which is good for a few laughs, please think again.

Dr Randy Pornstori accused of sexing up climate warming dossier.

Or was it the usual jet in, limo, 5 star hotel and gourmet food UN IPCC thing!

I’m surprised the book wasn’t a Vedgetarian cook book with a Chapter devoted to Meat and the menace of Methane.

But it’s good to see he’s getting his (fictional) oats.

Let’s not forget to be inclusive:

The Devil in Phil Jones