Independent assessment of UN climate change report refutes alarmist claims made in official “Summary for Policymakers”

Alternate Solutions Institute: LAHORE, PAKISTAN — An independent review of the science of climate change contradicts in many respects the official Policymakers Summary released on Friday February 2, 2007 in Paris – calling into question the validity of the claims made by the UN.

The new report was produced for the renowned Fraser Institute, a member of the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change. Written by a panel of 10 internationally-recognized experts, it is an assessment of a draft of the first section of the forthcoming report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“The debate around climate change has become highly politicized and alarmist. So we asked a team of highly qualified scientists to look at the IPCC report and produce a summary that they felt communicates the real state of knowledge. Our intent with this document is to allow people to see for themselves what is known and what remains highly uncertain within climate change science.” said Dr. Ross McKitrick, coordinator of the report.

This “Independent Summary for Policymakers” concludes:

On the basis of the most accurate measures available – weather satellites – there is little evidence of atmospheric warming since 1979 (when satellite records begin).

No compelling evidence that dangerous or unprecedented changes in the climate are underway.

No globally-consistent pattern in long-term precipitation trends, snow-covered area, or snow depth.

Current data suggest a global mean sea level rise of between two and three millimeters per year.

Observed climate change cannot be attributed to a specific cause, such as increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Attribution studies relying on computer simulations do not take into account the uncertainty inherent in climate models, nor do they adequately account for many potentially important influences such as aerosols, solar activity, and land use changes.

Download the Fraser Institute Report (PDF)

Alternate Solutions Institute is a member institute of Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change.