Comment on findings of inquiry into climate science at the University of East Anglia

Commenting on the report of the international panel set up by the University of East Anglia to examine the research of the Climatic Research Unit, Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “These are very important findings that should be conveyed around the world. The Panel has conducted a rigorous investigation and found no evidence to support the allegations made by some climate change ‘sceptics’ that the research carried out by the Climatic Research Unit is fraudulent. In short, the e-mails that were posted on the internet in November do not represent the ‘smoking gun’ that was claimed by so-called sceptics. The Panel has carried out a thorough investigation of the evidence, and anybody who simply rejects these findings will show that they are motivated by prejudice and ideology rather than by scepticism and a desire to uncover the truth. I think those so-called sceptics and commentators in the media who have attempted to undermine the credibility of climate change science on the basis of the hacked e-mails now need to apologise for misleading the public about their significance.”

Notes for Editors

1. The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment  was established in 2008 at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The Institute brings together international expertise on economics, as well as finance, geography, the environment, international development and political economy to establish a world-leading centre for policy-relevant research, teaching and training in climate change and the environment. It is funded by The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, which also funds the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London.