UK Scientists Prepare For Next Wave Of Climate Lies, Fake "Uncertainty"

[hatrack]

Britain's scientists are drawing up a plan to fight renewed attempts by sceptics and industry-funded lobby groups to derail international action on climate change. According to a confidential internal memo, the Royal Society expects "groups and individuals" to question the science of global warming and the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

It predicts that lobbyists will try to undermine a report next year from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is expected to give a new warning on climate change. Sources say the report, a draft of which was handed to governments earlier this month, will warn that global warming could drive the Earth's temperature to levels far higher than previously predicted. The report draws together research over the past five years and will be made public in February.

EDIT

The document says the oil company Exxon Mobil has tried "to influence public opinion about the threat of climate change". It also says "concerted efforts" were made in 2004-05 to change the way the UK media covered climate science after Tony Blair declared that global warming was one of his priorities. The memo shows concern that parts of UK media do not reflect the scientific consensus that human emissions of carbon dioxide are driving climate change. It highlights articles in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, which it says "appeared to be directly influenced by information distributed by lobbyists".

But the memo also criticises environmental campaigners for misrepresenting scientific evidence and says that green groups and the British media "have been guilty of expressing unjustified certainty about the science of climate change". It criticises Greenpeace for blaming global warming for the 2003 heatwave that killed 30,000 people across Europe. Global warming could not be blamed for individual weather events, although it does make some more likely to occur.

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1758233,00.html

[PublicWrath]

1. In addition to their other motives, big oil companies

have their hearts set on resources in the Arctic, which can't be developed until more ice melts. Geologists think perhaps 1/4 of the world's oil and gas are in the Arctic.

BP and Statoil are heavily involved in the USGS Arctic expedition. The expedition is supposed to be framed around studying global warming and developing a plan to fight it. Unfortunately, the research seems to be slanting toward exploitation. They are going to map oil deposits, etc. (There is an article on the Arctic expedition on DU somewhere, I don't have a Search function.)

Oil companies want the ice to melt in the Arctic ocean. They don't really care if it causes the end of the world.

[PublicWrath]

2. In addition to their other motives, big oil companies

have their hearts set on resources in the Arctic, which can't be developed until more ice melts. Geologists think perhaps 1/4 of the world's oil and gas are in the Arctic.

BP and Statoil are heavily involved in the USGS Arctic expedition. The expedition is supposed to be framed around studying global warming and developing a plan to fight it. Unfortunately, the research seems to be slanting toward exploitation. They are going to map oil deposits, etc. (There is an article on the Arctic expedition on DU somewhere, I don't have a Search function.)

Oil companies want the ice to melt in the Arctic ocean. They don't really care if it causes the end of the world.