Richard Mulgan is a former professor in the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University. Thanks to the Canberra Times for giving space for this, concise, timely and very readable article.

Climate scepticism is good
RICHARD MULGAN
15/12/2008
“I am not a climate sceptic,” said Senator Nick Xenophon in a recent ABC interview, and went on to explain why. He said he found the case for human-induced global warming generally convincing, though far from certain, and believed governments should take action to reduce greenhouse emissions because of the greater risk of doing nothing.

On most everyday understandings of the term ”scepticism”, the senator was in fact displaying a sceptical attitude towards the issue: he denied that the evidence about global warming was certain and was prepared to entertain doubts about the degree of probability for global warming. His refusal to be labelled a ”climate sceptic”, however, shows how the term has become hijacked in public debate.

”Climate scepticism” now stands for a policy stance, opposition to the case for emission reduction. It has become detached from its normal sense of reasonable doubt about the science. The confusion is important and reflects a dangerous misunderstanding of how far policy can be based on robust evidence.

In principle, all scientific theories are open to falsification by new evidence and therefore no science can ever be entirely certain. In practice, however, many areas of science are sufficiently well grounded in reliable evidence to be accepted beyond reasonable doubt. But climate science is not among them.

Everyone knows the limitations of short-term weather forecasting. Climate scientists confirm that the large number of independent factors influencing climatic events rules out precise explanation or prediction. With climate change, uncertainty is compounded by the lack of reliable historical data from before the modern period. This does not mean that nothing can be known about climate change or that no predictions are worth making. But it does mean nothing can be known for certain or even with the degree of certainty that can apply in aspects of other sciences, such as physics or chemistry.

Uncertainty pervades the entire field of climate change. Scepticism should therefore be the natural attitude of any intelligent student of the topic.

Full article

More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims

Over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe challenged man-made global
warming claims made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) and former Vice President Al Gore. This new 231-page U.S. Senate Minority
Report report — updated from 2007’s groundbreaking report of over 400 scientists who
voiced skepticism about the so-called global warming “consensus” — features the
skeptical voices of over 650 prominent international scientists, including many current
and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN IPCC. This
updated report includes an additional 250 (and growing) scientists and climate
researchers since the initial release in December 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists
are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped
IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers.

The chorus of skeptical scientific voices grow louder in 2008 as a steady stream of peerreviewed
studies, analyses, real world data and inconvenient developments challenged
the UN and former Vice President Al Gore’s claims that the “science is settled” and there
is a “consensus.” On a range of issues, 2008 proved to be challenging for the promoters
of man-made climate fears. Promoters of anthropogenic warming fears endured the
following: Global temperatures failing to warm; Peer-reviwed studies predicting a
continued lack of warming; a failed attempt to revive the discredited “Hockey Stick”;
inconvenient developments and studies regarding CO2; the Sun; Clouds; Antarctica; the
Arctic; Greenland; Mount Kilimanjaro; Hurricanes; Extreme Storms; Floods; Ocean
Acidification; Polar Bears; lack of atmosphieric dust; the failure of oceans to warm and
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In addition, the following developments further secured 2008 as the year the “consensus”
collapsed. Russian scientists “rejected the very idea that carbon dioxide may be
responsible for global warming”. An American Physical Society editor conceded that a
“considerable presence” of scientific skeptics exist. An International team of scientists
countered the UN IPCC, declaring: “Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate”.
India Issued a report challenging global warming fears. International Scientists
demanded the UN IPCC “be called to account and cease its deceptive practices,” and a
canvass of more than 51,000 Canadian scientists revealed 68% disagree that global
warming science is “settled.”

This new report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s office
of the GOP Ranking Member is the latest evidence of the growing groundswell of
scientific opposition challenging significant aspects of the claims of the UN IPCC and Al
Gore. Many scientific meetings are now being dominated by a growing number of
skeptical scientists. The prestigious International Geological Congress, dubbed the
geologists’ equivalent of the Olympic Games, was held in Norway in August 2008 and
prominently featured the voices of scientists skeptical of man-made global warming
fears. [See Full report Here: & see: Skeptical scientists overwhelm conference: ‘2/3 of
presenters and question-askers were hostile to, even dismissive of, the UN IPCC’ ]

Direct Link to printable pdf version of report