6:11 a.m., Feb. 27, 2008--Mechanical problems on the aircraft carrying UD's featured Global Agenda climate change speaker to the United States Tuesday night prevented the plane from leaving New Delhi, according to program director Ralph Begleiter. As a result, Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will not reach the United States to take part in the program scheduled for tonight on the University's main campus.

“We are very disappointed at this unforeseeable circumstance,” said Begleiter, “but we are grateful that Dr. Pachauri is safe and well. He told us he endured nine hours stuck on the plane sitting on the New Delhi tarmac waiting for takeoff, before passengers were permitted to disembark.”

Begleiter announced that tonight's Global Agenda first program will proceed on schedule, featuring a round-table discussion among UD's own two Nobel Prize sharing faculty members, John Michael Byrne, of UD's Center for Energy & Environmental Policy, and Frederick Nelson, of the Department of Geography, along with Yda Schreuder, of the Department of Geography, who is the author of a forthcoming book on the subject of climate change.

Tonight's topic will remain “Creating a Climate for Political Action.” The program will revolve around Pachauri's global organization, the IPCC, including its conclusions and its politics.

Although no substitute for Pachauri's appearance, Begleiter said, the program is intended to engage students and the public in broad questions about the politics of climate change, this year's Global Agenda theme.

“I personally apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment caused by this unexpected development,” Begleiter said, “but we believe there is great interest in the topic, and we look forward to the remainder of the Global Agenda series this spring. We look forward to rescheduling Dr. Pachauri's visit to UD in the future.”

Tonight's program takes place at 7:30 p.m. in Mitchell Hall. The next Global Agenda public event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12.

For more information, visit [www.udel.edu/global].