Commentary

Politics Trumps Science at IPCC

To those who closely watch the climate change debate, this announcement by International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) member and NOAA research meteorologist Dr. Chris Landsea probably won’t come as a surprise:

“After some prolonged deliberation, I have decided to withdraw from participating in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). I am withdrawing because I have come to view the part of the IPCC to which my expertise is relevant as having become politicized. In addition, when I have raised my concerns to the IPCC leadership, their response was simply to dismiss my concerns.

. . . .

It is beyond me why my colleagues would utilize the media to push an unsupported agenda that recent hurricane activity has been due to global warming. Given Dr. Trenberth’s role as the IPCC’s Lead Author responsible for preparing the text on hurricanes, his public statements so far outside of current scientific understanding led me to concern that it would be very difficult for the IPCC process to proceed objectively with regards to the assessment on hurricane activity. My view is that when people identify themselves as being associated with the IPCC and then make pronouncements far outside current scientific understandings that this will harm the credibility of climate change science and will in the longer term diminish our role in public policy.

. . . .

I personally cannot in good faith continue to contribute to a process that I view as both being motivated by pre-conceived agendas and being scientifically unsound.”

Dr. Landsea’s grievances relate specifically to specious global warming/hurricane claims, but his experience raises serious red flags about the objectivity of the IPCC in a larger sense. Check out Reason’s Climate Change Resource Center for more on the IPCC and climate change in general. (Hat Tip: EnviroSpin Watch)