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Climate change debate back in the news
photo by Evstafiev (Wikimedia Commons)
In the wake of a summer that spawned harsh heat waves and forest fires in Europe; and catastrophic floods in China, Pakistan and elsewhere in Asia, climate debate is back in the news.
Debate about the significance or even existence of anthropogenic global warming featured prominently the headlines last winter during the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, the ‘Climategate’ scandal the IPCC and the Met Office were embroiled in; and when parts of Europe and the US experienced unseasonably cold temperatures.
These major events were followed by a relative lull in media coverage of climate issues, punctuated by the odd story about overfishing or biodiversity. Then came the Icelandic volcano and the granddaddy of all eco-news stories, the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe and blundering BP.
Now, dear friends, the debate – like the planet – is hotting up again.
Here are some of the stories:
The blowback of ‘Climategate’ and ‘Glaciergate’ has not totally died down, it seems. An independent review on the UN climate change body, the IPCC, overseen by the Inter-Academy Council (IAC) is largely positive, but recommends term limits to the organization’s executives and stricter policy guidelines. The review adds to pressure on IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri to step down. It also criticizes some of the ‘grey’ sources used in the last IPCC report.
Read more on this story from BBC News and the Guardian.
Another sensational development in the climate debate – at least relatively speaking – is prominent ‘skeptical environmentalist’ Bjørn Lomborg’s recent book. Lomborg never denied man made climate change, but considered it a low priority issue, grossly exaggerated and used for political purposes. Now, as he explains in his new book, he’s in favor of some serious actions to limit climate change and adapt to its results.
Pachauri once compared Lomborg to Hitler – a classic argument stopper – but now lauds his latest book, entitled ‘Smart Solutions to Climate Change’.
Read more on this story in the Guardian and the Telegraph.
For those who want a real scrap, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will host a debate between the skeptical Lord Lawson, who heads the Global Warming Policy Foundation; and Sir David King, former chief scientist for the UK government.
These are British heavyweights on each side of the political/scientific isle. Lawson is what I call a ‘soft skeptic’ Conservative who doesn’t deny man made climate change wholesale, but thinks it’s exaggerated and that the science is uncertain and without strong foundations. King, for a start, heads environmental science and physical chemistry departments at Oxford and Cambridge universities. I have a feeling that the debate will be a bit unbalanced between science and politics, but should be lively enough. Not exactly James Hansen vs. James Inhofe, however.
Read more on the upcoming debate here.
Tags: Bjorn, climate change, ClimateGate, copenhagen, debate, global warming, IPCC, King, Lawson, Lomborg, news, Pachauri, report, review, science, skeptical
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