| November 23, 2009 |  |
Contrarians Using Hacked E-mails to Attack Climate Science
Statement by Peter Frumhoff, the director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists and a lead author of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
WASHINGTON (November 23, 2009) — Some opponents of climate action are attacking climate science by misrepresenting illegally-obtained private e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Great Britain.
Below is a statement by Peter Frumhoff, the director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists and a lead author of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
"Climate science contrarians are using the release of e-mails from several top scientists to attack climate science. Unfortunately for these conspiracy theorists, what the e-mails show are simply scientists at work, grappling with key issues, and displaying the full range of emotions and motivations characteristic of any urgent endeavor. Any suggestions that these e-mails will affect public and policymakers' understanding of climate science give far too much credence to blog chatter and boastful spin from groups opposed to addressing climate change.
"We should keep in mind that our understanding of climate science is based not on private correspondence, but on the rigorous accumulation, testing and synthesis of knowledge often represented in the dry and factual prose of peer-reviewed literature. The scientific community is united in calling on U.S. policymakers to recognize that emissions of heat-trapping gases must be dramatically reduced if we are to avoid the worst consequences of human-induced climate change.
"The oil and coal industries and the front groups they finance have long sought to sow doubt about climate science. Now that governments around the world are finally taking steps to address climate change, these industries and their surrogates are turning up the volume of their attacks.
"Policymakers and the general public should reject these attacks and not be distracted from building solutions to this urgent threat."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
