Climate Scientists Submit Evidence Refuting Lord Monckton’s Bogus Claims
British Lord Monckton is the high priest of climate change denialism, and a group of climate scientists have submitted evidence to the US Congress refuting his claims.
His testimony included claims that increasing ocean acidification is not due to rising CO2 levels, that recent decades of warming were due to global brightening as opposed to rising CO2 levels, and that there is nothing unusual about recent rises in global temperatures. He concluded his testimony by stating that anthropogenic climate change is a “non-problem” and that the correct policy response was “to do nothing”.
“For those without some familiarity with climate science, [Monckton’s] testimony may appear to have scientific validity,” said yesterday’s response to Monckton’s claims . “We have therefore undertaken the task of soliciting responses from highly qualified climate scientists in each of the areas touched upon in Monckton’s testimony … In all cases, Monckton’s assertions are shown to be without merit – they are based on a thorough misunderstanding of the science of climate change.”
The rebuttal was organised over the summer by five scientists, including Prof Michael Mann, the director of the Earth system science centre at Pennsylvania State University, and John Abraham, the associate professor of engineering at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota. Both scientists have sparred with Monckton in the past over his various claims about the veracity of climate science.
The document contains referenced responses from 21 leading climate scientists, including James Hansen, the director of the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and David Easterling, the chief of the scientific services division at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Centre (NOAA).