Climate sceptics have plenty to laugh about

Climate sceptics cannot complain about the amount of attention they are getting this week. In Copenhagen, tens of thousands of politicians, negotiators and environmental organisations have presented measures to combat climate change. However, the debate about the scientific basis of the greenhouse theory has flared up again.

On the eve of the climate summit, hackers published thousands of confidential emails on the internet, from the climate research centre of the University of East Anglia. The exchange of emails between staff at the centre allegedly revealed that data which undermined the greenhouse theory had been intentionally withheld. It is not the first time that critical noises have been suppressed, says Dutch climate sceptic Hans Labohm.

Climate statistics and sceptics

The climate statistics debate is not made any easier by the fact that both sides use loose interpretations and even manipulations of the statistics to argue their case.

The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere has caused global warming; the climate negotiators have accepted the IPCC opinion that temperatures throughout the worldwide have risen since 1850.

Sceptics dispute this. Temperature increases have hobbled behind the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere for 800 years; since 1998, the earth has cooled down rather than warm up.

Both the infamous hockey stick graph by NASA, which shows a significant rise in temperatures and the sceptics’ figures have turned out to be manipulated or based on unreliable data.

>>> More in our Copenhagen Summit dossier

"We have always felt that we have been shut out. The Climategate emails show that this has happened again. The hacked emails reveal plans to keep climate sceptics out of the scientific literature. In this sense there is pressure on the editors of scientific journals to reject contributions by climate sceptics. That is exactly the same method the IPCC uses."

Black hole
The economist is an outspoken sceptic, a description he is proud of. He has specialised in climate matters and in the past acted as an expert reviewer for the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change. He says his critical remarks “disappeared into a big black hole”.

This brings us straight to his main difficulty with the research methods of the Climate Panel. The IPCC was set up to prove that man is responsible for climate change. However, he thinks if they are not open to different opinions, they are erring on the side of pseudo science.

Withholding information
The earth’s natural processes are so complex, that there is almost as much evidence for the opposing principles. Even the relationship between CO2 and global warming is up for discussion as far as sceptics are concerned. Since 1998, the earth has cooled down, whilst the quantity of CO2 has increased.

"If this were true, the CO2 produced by man in the last ten years would have had an influence on the temperature. But that is not so. The temperature has fallen. This is the greenhouse alarmists best kept secret. They have withheld information.”

That is why he thinks that the UN should not be allowed to make money-wasting measures compulsory at the climate summit, under the pretext of a climate disaster. It is fine to save energy and research alternative fuels, but pumping so much money into it is nonsense.

Mr Labohm has not gone to Copenhagen, as there would be no point in doing so.

"Copenhagen is populated by a lot of believers in the greenhouse effect. It is a kind of ritual honorary service of the greenhouse church. You can’t expect to hear many critical voices there."

Voice in high places
Nevertheless the sceptics have got a voice in high places. The European Union environment commission has been joined by the extreme right-wing politician Nick Griffin of the British National Party since the last elections. It doesn’t really matter to him whether people listen to him.

"The fact is that the political elite is grotesquely out of step with ordinary people. Even before the full implications of the University of East Anglia con hit the public you got the fact that in Britain, like most of Western Europe, more than fifty percent of the public have instinctively almost seen through global warming. They simply don't believe it. So I am happy to be there as a lone voice on behalf of more than half the British people."

For the tens of thousands of negotiators, politicians and environmental activists at Copenhagen, this public mistrust is a big stick to make sure they draw up acceptable measures. The politicians of 192 countries will have to defend the new climate treaty to their own people.