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Information Commissioner: Climategate Scientists Broke The Law
Jan 28th
January 28, 2010
The scientific unit at the heart of the climate change emails scandal broke the law by hiding data from sceptics.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia breached the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to comply with requests for the data.
The decision by the Information Commissioner’s Office comes months after controversial emails from the university’s Climatic Research Unit, a global leader in its field, were released on to the internet.
In one email the head of the unit, Professor Phil Jones, asked a colleague to delete emails relating to a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In another message, Professor Jones told how he had persuaded the university to ignore Freedom of Information requests from sceptics.
Others showed how an eminent climatologist admitted it was a ‘travesty’ scientists could not explain a lack of global warming in recent years.
The Information Commissioner’s Office yesterday revealed the university had failed in it duties under the Freedom of Information Act.
But it is powerless to prosecute those involved because the complaint was not made within six months of the offence, as required under the Act.
Deputy Information Commissioner Graham Smith said Freedom of Information requests were ‘not dealt with as they should have been under the legislation’.
The circumstances surrounding the emails are the subject of an inquiry commissioned by the university, and separately by Norfolk police.
Scientists at the University of East Anglia were encouraged to delete emails concerning claims that man-made emissions were causing global warming
Phil Willis, LibDem chairman of the parliamentary science and technology select committee-which is conducting its own inquiry, called on the university to honour the data requests as soon as possible.
‘I think that is an extremely serious charge. I don’t think you can have the inquiry unless you have all the issues relating to it out in the open,’ he told the Guardian.
‘Given the seriousness of this issue, the fact that it has caused global consternation, and has given ammunition to
the climate sceptics - to have such a serious breach and for there to be no recourse in law requires urgent attention by the Government,’ he added.
‘If there has been a breach in this situation then the most honourable thing for the university to do would be to honour the request in its totality with all speed.’
A spokesman for the university said that it was not aware of Mr Smith’s statement that it broke the law.
She said: ‘The way Freedom of Information requests have been handled is one of the main areas being explored by Sir Muir Russell’s independent review.
‘We have already made clear that the findings of the review will be made public and that we will act as is appropriate on its recommendations.’
The revelations came after the Government’s chief scientific adviser declared scientists must be more ‘honest and open’ about the uncertainties of global warming.
Professor John Beddington said researchers should be less hostile to sceptics who question their predictions.
Professor Beddington’s comments follow a series of blunders by climate scientists.
Last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was forced to apologise after wrongly claiming most of the Himalayan glaciers would vanish within 25 years.
It also exaggerated claims that global warming will increase the number of tropical storms.
‘I don’t think it’s healthy to dismiss proper scepticism,’ Professor Beddington told the Times.
‘Science grows and improves in the light of criticism. There is a fundamental uncertainty about climate change prediction that can’t be changed.’
Climategate on Finnish Television
Dec 28th
Climategate on Finnish Television 1/3
Climategate on Finnish Television 2/3
Climategate on Finnish Television 3/3
Journalist Bullied by UN Cops For Asking Climategate Question at Copenhagen Press Conference
Dec 13th
via Yid With Lid
Today the “Global Warming Mafia” gave new credence to the charges raised by Climategate, that there has been a concerted effort to cover-up dissenting voices. Because that’s exactly what they did to McAleer when he asked some “inconvenient questions” during a press briefing at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Professor Stephen Schneider’s assistant requested armed UN security officers who held film maker Phelim McAleer, ordered him to stop filming and prevented further questioning after the press conference where the Stanford academic was launching a book.
He asked Professor Schneider about his opinions on Climategate
Professor Schneider, who is a senior member of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said he would not comment on emails that may have been incomplete or edited.
When McAleer replied that the University had confirmed that the emails were legitimate, all help broke lose, UN officials and Professor Schneider’s assistants twice tried to cut short McAleer’s question.
As the press conference drew to a close Professor Schneider’s assistant called armed UN security guards to the room. They held McAleer and aggressively ordered cameraman Ian Foster to stop filming. The guard threatened to take away the camera and expel the film crew from the conference if they did not obey his instructions to stop filming Professor Schneider.
The guard demanded to look at the film crews press credentials and refused to allow them to film until Professor Schneider left the room. McAleer said he was disappointed by Professor Schneider’s behaviour.
“It was a press conference. Climategate is a major story – it goes to the heart of the Global Warming debate by calling into question the scientific data and the integrity of many scientists involved.”
“These questions should be answered. The attempts by UN officials and Professor Schneider’s assistant to remove my microphone were hamfisted but events took a more sinister turn when they called an armed UN security officer to silence a journalist.”
Two officers corralled the film crew and one officer can be seen on tape (video below) threatening the cameraman. The Guard can also be heard warning that if the crew did not stop filming their would seize the equipment and the journalists expelled from the conference.
“I have met Mr Christopher Ankerson the UN’s head of security for the conference and he has confirmed it was Professor Schneider’s staff who asked the security guards to come corral us at the press conference. Mr Ankerson could not say what grounds the security guard had for ordering us to stop filming.”
“This is a blatant attempt to stop journalists doing journalism and asking hard questions. It is not the job of armed UN security officers to stop legitimate journalists asking legitimate questions of senior members of the UN’s IPCC.”
But it does seem like the job of Professor Schneider to help sweep Climategate under the carpet.
Al Jazeera English – UN to investigate climate email row
Dec 7th
Al Jazeera English
December 4, 2009
The United Nations is to conduct an investigation into emails leaked from a leading British climate science centre which appeared to show some of the world’s leading scientists discussing ways to shield data from public scrutiny and suppress others’ work.
The University of East Anglia has defended the integrity of the science published by its Climatic Research Unit and its researchers, but said on Thursday that it would also check whether some of the data had been fudged.
Those who argue against the influence of man-made climate change have seized on the correspondence to argue that scientists have been conspiring to hide evidence about global warming.
In an interview with BBC radio, Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the issue raised by the emails was serious and said “we will look into it in detail”.
Pauchauri said: “We will certainly go into the whole lot and then we will take a position on it … we certainly don’t want to brush anything under the carpet.”
via Al Jazeera English – Europe – UN to investigate climate email row.
Climategate: Phil Jones accused of making error of judgment by colleague – Telegraph
Dec 5th
Climategate: Phil Jones accused of making error of judgment by colleague
Phil Jones, the professor at the centre of a row over climate change data, has been accused of making an error of judgment by his US colleague.
By Chris Irvine
Published: 1:30PM GMT 03 Dec 2009
Phil Jones, the professor at the centre of a row over climate change data has been accused of making an error of judgment by his US colleague.
Phil Jones, the the academic at the centre of the climate change data row
Prof Jones, director of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) has been accused of manipulating climate change data following thousands of leaked documents that suggested academics delete sensitive emails to evade Freedom of Information requests from climate change sceptics.
Prof Jones, who has denied altering figures, has since said he would stand down from his post while an independent review is carried out.
One of the scientists to whom the emails were addressed, Professor Michael Mann, the Director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University has moved to distance himself from some of the comments in the emails that suggest scientists did not want the IPCC, the UN body charged with monitoring climate change, to consider studies that challenged the view global warming was genuine and man-made.
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