As the climate change chief whose research body wrote a report warning that the glaciers in the Himalayas could melt by 2035 and earned a Nobel Prize for his work, you might think that Dr Rajendra Pachauri would be doing everything he could to reduce his own carbon footprint, but as controversy continues over the false‘Glaciergate’ claims which are contained in a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,  of which he is the leader, Dr Pachauri seems to show little commitment to reducing his own carbon footprint.

On Friday, according to the Mail, Dr Pachauri could have walked, or cycled, or used the eco-friendly electric car provided for him, known in the UK as G-Wiz , for the one-mile journey from home to his Delhi office, but instead, he used his personal chauffeur to collect him from his £4.5million home in a 1.8-litre Toyota Corolla, and later, the chauffeur also collected Dr Pachauri from the office of the Energy and Resources Institute, clearly ignoring the institute’s own literature, which gives visitors tips on how to reduce pollution by using buses.

Dr Pachauri, who once told people they should eat less meat to cut greenhouse gas emissions, was driven to an upmarket restaurant popular with expatriates and well-off tourists just half a mile from his luxurious family home.

As he waited outside the institute office for Dr Pachauri, the chauffeur said:

“Dr Pachauri does use the electric car sometimes but most of the time he uses the Toyota.”

The electric car might be kinder to the environment and more suitable for short trips, explained the chauffeur – who has worked for the environmentalist for 19 years, but it was too small for Dr Pachauri and a driver to share.

At his office, Dr Pachauri has four electric cars at his disposal.  The institute bought the battery-powered cars to reduce pollution on short trips by staff around town. One of those cars has been set aside for his personal use.