IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri speaks with an official during the Bangkok climate summit.
The British weekly journal
Nature on Wednesday named Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as "Newsmaker of the Year," an award reflecting an individual's contribution to public debate on science.
The IPCC was co-awarded
the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore, lauded for his campaigning on climate change.
"Pachauri worked ceaselessly, and sometimes sleeplessly, to create compromise where necessary while refusing to dilute the key messages from the academic community he serves."
Earlier this year, the IPCC published its Fourth Assessment Report to guide policymakers about global warming and its impacts.
"Producing that set of reports was the work of hundreds of scientists, all of whom deserve honour -- and all of whom were honoured with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10," said Nature.
"But a particular burden fell on the chair, and in that capacity Pachauri worked ceaselessly, and sometimes sleeplessly, to create compromise where necessary while refusing to dilute the key messages from the academic community he serves."