A chronology of some major climate science/policy milestones

The following is a brief chronological history of the scientific and public discussion on the issue of climate change. It includes some of the major milestones in National and International agreements/disagreements and release of scientific papers pertinent to the understanding of climate science and climate change. This is by no means an exhaustive list of scientific papers, that would run into the tens of thousands, but does convey the depth of research and demonstrates the level of scientific consensus. I have drawn on numerous sources to compile this document, too many to mention, but I am indebted to the work of two people in particular who I wish to credit.

Maria Taylor author of “Global Warming and Climate Change: What Australia knew and buried … then framed a new reality for the public” ANU press 2014.

Peter Hadfield, a British freelance journalist, author and science correspondent, who runs the YouTube channel ‘Potholer54’

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1800–1910

Industrial Revolution; at the beginning of this period, level of CO2 in the atmosphere is about 290 parts per million (ppm) according to the ice core record; technological advances include coal-fired energy with related emissions and means for expanding land clearing; sanitation and medical advances promote population growth.

1861

On the Absorption and Radiation of Heat by Gases and Vapours, and on the Physical Connexion of Radiation, Absorption, and Conduction.

By John Tyndall

1896

On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground

By Svante Arrhenius Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science

Following the work of John Tyndall, showing that diatomic molecules absorb infrared radiation, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius publishes first calculations that planetary temperatures depend on greenhouse gases, speculating that human activity burning fossil fuels creates ‘extra’ CO2 that might make the earth’s temperature rise significantly over time.

1930s

Scientists suggest anthropogentric global warming is underway driven by more CO2 and other greenhouse gases in atmosphere due to human activities. This was known then, and until 1990s, as ‘the greenhouse effect’.

1931

The Temperature of the Lower Atmosphere of the Earth

By E. O. Hulburt

1938

The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature

By G. S. Callendar

 1941

Kanon der Erdbestrahlungen und seine Anwendung auf das Eiszeitenproblem.

(Canon of insolation and the ice-age problem)

Milankovitch, M., (1941), Royal Serbian Academy, Belgrade.

Milutin Milankovitch determines the earths orbital cycles which bears his name.

1950s

With computer technology, scientific advances allow modelling of the atmosphere, and understanding of climate feedback that accelerates warming or cooling trends, plus the realization that oceans would not be absorbing all the CO2 produced by humans.

1955

The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climatic Change

By Gilbert N. Plass

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.

 1960

1960 Detection of annual rise of CO2 in the atmosphere and measurement at 315 ppm.

1962

Direct adsorption of solar radiation by atmospheric water vapor carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen

By Yamamoto

 Publication of ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachael Carson

 1965

Absorption of Solar Radiation by Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

By Thomas Kyle Article in Journal of the Optical Society of America

1966

Thermal Equilibrium of the Atmosphere with a Given Distribution of Relative Humidity

By Syukuro Manabe and Richard Wetherald

 1967

1967–1968 Calculation that doubling CO2 will raise temperatures by several degrees; understanding that polar ice sheets could collapse and elevate sea levels.

1968

The effect of solar radiation variations on the climate of the Earth

By M. I. BUDYKO, Main Geophysical Observatory, Leningrad, M. Spasskaja

1970

First World Environment Day signals strong upsurge of environmental interest and understanding. In the United States the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) creates world’s biggest funder of climate research. Scientists begin organizing and disseminating risk messages about human impacts on climate.

1972

Cloudiness as a Global Climatic Feedback Mechanism: The Effects on the Radiation Balance and Surface Temperature of Variations in Cloudiness

Stephen H. Schneider 

 Further research of proxy records (ice cores mainly) confirm possibility of rapid climate change within a millennium (later brought down to decades).

1979

Second oil ‘energy crisis’ results in an upsurge in renewable energy technology, efficiency measures, smaller cars, calls to lower consumption—showing the feasibility of these technologies and behavioral changes (this understanding and these technologies were still influential in the late 1980s).

First report on the greenhouse effect by US National Academy of Sciences says it is ‘highly credible’ that doubling atmospheric CO2 will raise average global temperatures by 1.5–4.5 °C;

Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment Report of an Ad Hoc Study Group on Carbon Dioxide and Climate

Climate Research Board; Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. National Research Council (USA)

 Questions Concerning the Possible Influence of Anthropogenic CO2 on Atmospheric Temperature

Reginald E. Newella and Thomas G. Dopplick

Department of Meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge Scott Air Force Base,

1980

World Climate Research Program launched. Election of Ronald Reagan as US President (and Margaret Thatcher as UK Prime Minister) starts two decades of backlash against environmental understandings and activism. It has been noted that a related set of beliefs dominated Anglo/American countries—United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia: neo-liberal market ideologies underpinned by beliefs in limitless resources and a self-adjusting natural world.

The Australian Academy of Science organizes a conference to review the thinking of leading scientists on the greenhouse effect. Playboy magazine covers the threats posed by the greenhouse effect, extensively quoting Australian scientists.

1981

Scientific prediction is made that greenhouse warming ‘signals’ would emerge from background ‘climate noise’ by 2000 and be measurable;

1981 declared ‘warmest year on record’.

Climate Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

J. Hansen, D. Johnson, A. Lacis, S. Lebedeff P. Lee, D. Rind, G. Russell

Science Magazine

1982

A New Greenland Deep Ice Core. Science 218: 1273-77

Dansgaard, W., et al.

1984

“If we’ve learned any lessons during the past few decades, perhaps the most important is that preservation of our environment is not a partisan challenge; it’s common sense. Our physical health, our social happiness, and our economic well-being will be sustained only by all of us working in partnership as thoughtful, effective stewards of our natural resources.” - Ronald Reagan, July 11, 1984

 USA: Heartland institute founded Arlington Heights, Chicago IL

The Institute conducts work on issues including education reform, government spending, taxation, healthcare, tobacco policy, global warming, hydraulic fracturing, information technology, and free-market environmentalism. Oil and gas companies have contributed to the Institute, including $736,500 from ExxonMobil between 1998 and 2005.

The Institute has also received funding and support from tobacco companies Philip Morris, Altria and Reynolds American, and pharmaceutical industry firms GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Eli Lilly. State Farm Insurance, USAA and Diageo are former supporters. The Independent reported that Heartland's receipt of donations from Exxon and Philip Morris indicates a "direct link...between anti-global warming sceptics funded by the oil industry and the opponents of the scientific evidence showing that passive smoking can damage people's health”

1985

United Nations Environment Program/ World Meteorological Organization (UNEP/WMO) scientific conference yields major public pronouncement by scientists linking anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases with global warming, showing consensus within climate science community and calling for international action to curb emissions; Villach, Austria.

1986

1986 CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research briefs Australian federal and state Environment Ministers’ Council (ANZECC) on the risks posed by the greenhouse effect.

1987

 A 541-page report is produced at the first IPCC conference, Geneva. The conference statement acts as a catalyst for global action. It opens: ‘As a result of the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, it is now believed that in the first half of the next century a rise of global mean temperature could occur which is greater than any in man’s history.’

Antarctic ice cores show that CO2 and temperature went up and down together during the ice ages. Scientific calculation that disruption, with ice-melt fresh water, of the North Atlantic ocean circulation (the warming Gulf Stream) can bring sudden and dramatic climate change in the Northern Hemisphere (i.e., paradoxical cooling).

 Global Trends of Measured Surface Air Temperature

By James Hansen

Journal of geophysical research,

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, institute for Space Studies, New York

 Australia: CSIRO, with support from Australian governments, initiates two conferences—‘Greenhouse ’87’ and ‘Greenhouse ’88’—that are credited with spurring Australian public understanding of Greenhouse to world-leading proportions.

Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention achieves international agreement to curb ozone emissions and is cited as an example that international agreement on atmospheric pollution is possible. First CSIRO national conference on greenhouse/climate change in Australia.

1988

James Hansen provided what’s considered the first warning to a mass audience about global warming when he told a US congressional hearing he could declare “with 99% confidence” that a recent sharp rise in temperatures was a result of human activity.

News coverage of greenhouse effect escalates; framed as risks in response to record heat and drought in the United States and elsewhere. Testimony to US Congress by leading NASA atmospheric scientist. In Australia, media coverage also in response to second CSIRO and Commission for the Future conference and political/public discourse on the topic.

Toronto ‘Conference on the Changing Atmosphere’ attended by scientists, economists, and national leaders; call for action describes human activities as a vast, unplanned experiment upon the planet. Level of CO2 in the atmosphere reaches 350 ppm.

1989

“growing consensus amongst scientists showing there was a strong chance that major climate change was on its way, that this change was linked to human activity, and this could have “major ramifications for human survival” if nothing was done” Bob Hawke, Australian Prime Minister.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gave an inspiring speech to the UN General Assembly about the environment and climate change. November 8th 1989.

Declaration of the Hague; by 24 nations including Australia recognizes global significance of climate change and calls on all nations to participate in a Framework Convention in 1992.

Parameterizations for the Absorption of Solar Radiation by O2 and CO2 with Application to Climate Studies

Ming-Dah Chou Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

 Shortly after the presentation by the Exxon's manager of science and strategy development, Duane LeVine, to the board of directors which reiterated that introducing public policy to combat climate change "can lead to irreversible and costly draconian steps," the company shifted its position on the climate change to publicly questioning it. This shift was caused by concerns about the potential impact of the climate policy measures to the oil industry.

1990

First IPCC Assessment; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to advise national governments on best available scientific evidence on climate change causes, consequences, and response strategies, based on peer-reviewed publications; to report to second world climate conference. Australian scientists play prominent roles on the panel of 170 scientists assessing the published science at this time, backed by 200 scientists conducting peer review of the draft report. First IPCC report notable for its direct and clear language of certainty and risk.

Australia; Labor federal government under Bob Hawke takes a leading role internationally on climate change. April: Federal government sets up a National Climate Change Program with a National Greenhouse Advisory Committee of scientific advisers and a Prime Ministerial Working Group to assess achievable targets, and set priority research areas and objectives.

The Global Climate Coalition is founded by fossil fuel companies, and other corporations with economic interests in the status quo, to ‘fight back’ against climate science and proposed action.

Australia: Initiation of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) working groups under Hawke government. A unique attempt to develop sustainable policy in nine sectors of the economy in ‘accord’ style roundtable discussions by main societal sectors including environmental and community groups, plus government and industry. Greenhouse/climate change tackled by an inter-sectoral group that made significant recommendations, later watered down by federal bureaucracy. Industry concerns about economic ‘cost’ of climate change mitigation action enter public discourse; coal industry moves to forefront and ‘debate’ is initiated. Federal and state energy portfolio ministers in the Australian Minerals and Energy Council release report, and initiate studies and action to lessen emissions from that sector; significant because it shows early understanding by this portfolio. October: Federal government releases ‘interim planning target’ to stabilize CO2 emissions at 1988 levels by 2000, and reduce them by 20 per cent from there by 2005.

Late 1990 and 1991

Treasurer Paul Keating (Australia; elected prime minister in 1991) commissions both ESD greenhouse working group and Industry Commission to investigate cost and benefit of taking action; he receives widely divergent responses; Industry Commission ‘frame’ focusing on economic cost becomes a pivotal turning point in the national discussion. 1991 Change of federal leadership in Australia, Keating replaces Hawke. 1990s overall Characterized by increasing influence and then dominance of neoliberal/free market economic policies, shunning regulation, and shifting from public to privatized energy infrastructure based on coal, gas and hydro-electricity. This period cements investments with 40+ year time span in conventional energy infrastructure and production (e.g., coal-fired electricity plants). Deregulation and competition in energy and other markets switches emphasis from lowering consumer and industrial demand to mitigate emissions, to an emphasis on profit via greater consumption and more supply.

Length of the Solar Cycle: An Indicator of Solar Activity Closely Associated with Climate

Eigil Friis-Christensen K Larrsen Technical University of Denmark

1992

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) unveiled at Rio Summit; Australia is a signatory (ratified by federal parliament in December 1992); making it the eighth of 192 parties to have signed by 1994.

The convention sets some goals like 2000 as the year for returning emissions to 1990 levels, and obligating signatories to adopt national policies to limit emissions.

Australia; National Greenhouse Response Strategy (NGRS) established; reflecting influence of dominant market ideology, NGRS rejects regulation for greenhouse response strategies at federal and state levels. Focus turns to business concerns and priorities, and voluntary industry action, but there is now a reduced focus on alternative energy supply?efficiency measures and renewable technologies at the state level, and international participation at the Commonwealth level.

George H W Bush speech to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro:

“We must leave this earth in better condition than we found it, and today this old truth must be applied to new threats facing the resources which sustain us all, the atmosphere and the ocean, the stratosphere and the biosphere. Our village is truly global.” George HW Bush

1993

Solar radiation absorption by CO2, overlap with H2O, and a parameterization for general circulation models

S. M. Freidenreich V. Ramaswamy Journal of geophysical science;

1994

Australia: ‘Greenhouse ’94’ organized by CSIRO and New Zealand scientists, to review science in lead-up to first conference of the parties to the UNFCCC. Thereafter, Australian academies of science, engineering and social science report jointly in 1995. Mid-1990s Scientists gain better understanding of possibilities and mechanisms of rapid climate change; international scientific reports and warnings of risk continue from, inter alia, UK Meteorological Office,NASA, US National Academy of Sciences, NOAA, and other international institutions.

Bathymétrie and isotopic evidence for a short-lived Late Ordovician glaciation in a greenhouse period

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

P. J. Brerichley,J. D. Marshall,G. A. F. Carden,D. B. R. Robertson,D. G. F. Long

Department of Geology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 2C6, Canada

T. Meidla Institute of Geology, Tartu University, Tartu, EE2400, Estonia

L. Hints Institute of Geology, Academy of Sciences, Tallinn, EE0105 Estonia

T. F. Anderson Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801

1995

Second IPCC assessment reports on science, impacts and responses to anthropogenic climate change; confirm and continue the risk analysis set out in 1990 reports; however, language changes to a more cautious/academic modality.

Australian National Greenhouse Response Strategy (NGRS) published but scarcely implemented. First conference of the parties to the UNFCCC, held in Berlin, Germany; leads to Berlin Mandate, which calls for agreement, by the end of 1997, on greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres banner Reconciling Late Ordovician (440 Ma) glaciation with very high (14X) CO2 levels

Thomas J. Crowley Steven K. Baum

1996

Second conference of the parties to the UNFCCC held in Geneva, Switzerland

Australia; Change of federal leadership in Australia to Coalition and John Howard. Australia’s policy frame continues to shift and Australia establishes itself as a ‘climate change laggard’ (McDonald 2005: 225). Immediately before the conference the Australian government questioned the science of climate change and opposed the idea of the IPCC’s new conclusions on climate change impacts providing the basis for negotiations. These would “hurt Australia”’ (McDonald 2005: 225). Australia was joined by the OPEC states and the Russian Federation. The United States and Europe supported binding emission targets at the time, with the United States under President Bill Clinton who was elected in 1993.

Australia: 1996–2001 Transition to complete neo-liberal, economic rationalist dominance (hegemony) of public policies and discourses. International stance now about economic ‘national interest’ and Australia’s special case. Cuts or dismantling of research programs focused on energy efficiency, and renewable and alternative sources. Strong ties to neo-liberal think tanks. Attacks on, and marginalization of, environmentalists.

Variation of cosmic ray flux and global cloud coverage-a missing link in climate relationships

Henrik Svensmark and Eigil Friis-Christensen

Solar-Terrestrial Physics Division, Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej, Copenhagen , Denmark

 1997

Kyoto Protocol adopted; signed by 163 countries including Australia (which eventually declined to ratify until a change of government at the end of 2007). The Kyoto Protocol implemented the objective of the UNFCCC to reduce the onset of global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to "a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" by 2012.

Australian National Greenhouse Advisory Panel (established under Hawke) effectively disbanded (not asked to meet after this year). National Greenhouse Response Strategy reviewed; outcome critiqued as weak and ineffective due to lack of leadership, inability to separate public interest from narrow commercial interests, and lack of informed public discourse. Australian media reports exhibit strong shift in emphasis from science story to political economic story in the lead-up to the Kyoto Protocol, and document considerable industry resistance to action.

From 1997 to 2005, ExxonMobil has spent tens of millions of dollars funding organizations questioning the existence of man-made climate change. Exxon gave at least $19.5 million in grants to climate change denial organizations. A total of at least $35 million in grants went to climate change denial groups between 1997 and 2016 with over $5 million of those donations earmarked for climate change. Many grant recipients were members of the Cooler Heads Coalition.

 “Ken Cohen (Exxon Vice President for Public and Government Affairs) and his public affairs shop, in tandem with the K Street office in Washington, oversaw contributions to free-market advocates who published, spoke out, and file lawsuits to challenge policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or assess the long-term impact of global warming.” Steve Coll - A private Empire

1999

Holocene carbon-cycle dynamics based on CO2 trapped in ice at Taylor Dome, Antarctica

A. Indermühle, T. F. Stocker, F. Joos, H. Fischer, H. J. Smith, M. Wahlen, B. Deck, D. Mastroianni, J. Tschumi, T. Blunier, R. Meyer & B. Stauffer

Patrick J. ("Pat") Michaels an American climatologist and a senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute until Spring 2019, "Bet" In 1999, there would be a "statistically significant cooling trend in temperatures measured by satellite”

2000

The influence of cosmic rays on terrestrial clouds and global warming

E Pallé Bagó C J Butler

Astronomy & Geophysics,

Does the Earth Have an Adaptive Infrared Iris?

Richard S. Lindzen, Ming-Dah Chou, and Arthur Y. Hou

 Variation of cosmic ray flux and global cloud coverage—a missing link in solar-climate relationships

Henrik Svensmark & Eigil Friis-Christensen

2001

Newly inaugurated US President George W. Bush renounces Kyoto Protocol on national emission reduction targets, soon to be joined by Australia; a new stage of political skepticism and denial ramps up in both countries.

IPCC Third Assessment report; echoes risks outlined in first two assessments in greater regional detail, using language of scientific probability and uncertainty. 2009 Level of CO2 in atmosphere has risen to 390 ppm. Combined with methane and nitrous oxides (CO-eq) the level is 450 ppm.

The Iris Hypothesis: A Negative or Positive Cloud Feedback?

Bing Lin, Bruce A. Wielicki, Lin H. Chambers, Yongxiang Hu, and Kuan-Man Xu

Atmospheric Sciences Research, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia

Long‐term variations in the magnetic fields of the Sun and the heliosphere: Their origin, effects, and implications

M. Lockwood

 Geocarb III: A revised model of atmospheric CO2 over phanerozoic time

Robert Berner and Zavareth Kothavala

Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University,

2003

Timing of atmospheric CO2 and Antarctic temperature changes across Termination III

Nicolas Caillon, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Jean Jouzel, Jean-Marc Barnola, Jiancheng Kang, Volodya Y. Lipenkov

 Secular total solar irradiance trend during solar cycles 21-23

Richard C Willson

 2004

CO2 as a primary driver of Phanerozoic climate

Dana L Royer

 2005

The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change

Naomi Oreskes

Science magazine

 Rapid climate change in the ocean west of the Antarctic Peninsula during the second half of the 20th century

Michael P. Meredith and John C. King British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK Geophysical Research Letters

2006

By December 2006 a report by the Australian Greenhouse Office regarding domestic emissions ‘predicted greenhouse emissions generated by rising demand for coal-fired electricity would increase by 62 per cent over the next four years, and by 127 per cent by 2020’

Variations in solar luminosity and their effect on the Earth's climate

Claus Fr?hlich

Nature

 Global temperature change

James Hansen, Makiko Sato, Reto Ruedy, Ken Lo, David W. Lea, and Martin Medina-Elizade

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University Earth Institute, and Sigma Space Partners, Inc. New York; and Department of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara,

Measurements of the radiative surface forcing of climate

W.F.J. Evans, Northwest Research Associates, Bellevue, WA Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario

E. Puckrin, Defense R&D Canada-Valcartier, Val-Belair, Quebec

 2007

UNFCCC 4th Assessment published

China becomes largest GHG emitter

Developing country Parties agreed to "[Nationally] appropriate Mitigation Actions” [NAMAs] context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner. 42 developed countries have submitted mitigation targets to the UNFCCC secretariat.

Accelerated decline in the Arctic sea ice cover

Josefino C. Comiso, Claire L. Parkinson, Robert Gersten and Larry Stock

Cryospheric Sciences Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. 2ADNET Systems, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, USA. 3RS Information Systems, McLean, Virginia, USA. 4Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc., Greenbelt, Maryland, USA

ExxonMobil back flips on climate change policy, Kenneth Cohen, vice president for public affairs said "we know enough now—or, society knows enough now—that the risk is serious and action should be taken". ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, acknowledged that the planet was warming while carbon dioxide levels were increasing. ExxonMobil said that it would stop funding to groups skeptical of climate change, including The Heartland Institute. Joseph Bast, president of the Institute, argued that ExxonMobil was simply distancing itself from Heartland out of concern for its public image.

2008

UK Government; The Climate Change Act 2008 is the basis for the UK's approach to tackling and responding to climate change. It requires that emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are reduced and that climate change risks are prepared for. The Act also establishes the framework to deliver on these requirements

Water‐vapor climate feedback inferred from climate fluctuations, 2003–2008

A. E. Dessler Z. Zhang P. Yang

2009

Copenhagen Accord Conference, China announced its intention to reduce CO2 emission intensity by 40–45% by 2020.

UK Global Warming Policy Foundation founded, by amongst others, Lord Nigel Lawson, former cabinet minister, climate change denier and free market advocate.

The Institute of Economic Affairs’ magazine distributed to tens of thousands of British schoolchildren promotes tobacco tax cuts, climate change denial, tax havens, and privatizing the NHS.

The influential ‘think tank’ does not disclose its funding, but it has received money from British American Tobacco, BP, Jersey Finance, gambling lobbyists and right wing US foundations pushing to privatize the NHS. While articles on many of these topics have appeared in the IEA’s schools magazine, it does not disclose these financial links

Solar activity and the mean global temperature

A D Erlykin, T Sloan and A W Wolfendale

Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions

Susan Solomona Gian-Kasper Plattnerb, Reto Knuttic, and Peerre Friedlingsteind

Chemical Sciences Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO 80305; bInstitute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics and cInstitute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland; and dInstitut Peerre Simon Laplace/Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, Unite′ Mixte de Recherche 1572 Commissariat a` l’Energie Atomique–Centre National de la Recherche Scienti?que–Universite′ Versailles Saint-Quentin, Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique-Saclay, l’Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France

 2010

Tropospheric temperature trends: history of an ongoing controversy

Peter W. Thorne, John R. Lanzante, Thomas C. Peterson, Dian J. Seidel and Keith P. Shine

Met Of?ce Hadley Centre, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, UK 2Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, NOAA National Climatic Data Center, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC, USA NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Forrestal Campus, US Route 1, PO Box 308, Princeton, NJ, USA 4NOAA National Climatic Data Center, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC, USA NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, 1315EastWestHighway,Silver Spring, MD, USA Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 243, Reading, UK 2010

Climate Scientists respond to the written testimony of Christopher Monckton (Not a Lord, Not a scientist) In connection with the May 6, 2010 hearing before the select committee on energy independence and global warming. The detailed rebuttal addresses nine key scientific claims made by Monckton, a prominent climate sceptic. It includes the responses of 21 climate scientists who variously conclude that Monckton's assertions are "very misleading", "profoundly wrong", "simply false", "chemical nonsense", and "cannot be supported by climate physics".

2011

Australia: Galileo Movement founded, climate skeptic group founded amongst others by Radio personality Alan Jones and One Nations senator Malcolm Roberts.

2012

Tightened constraints on the time-lag between Antarctic temperature and CO2 during the last deglaciation

J. B. Pedro, S. O. Rasmussen, and T. D. van Ommen,

Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania,

Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania,

Centre for Ice and Climate, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia

 2013

UNFCCC 5th Assessment report

Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature

Cook et al 2013

Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: #climate change is real, man-made and dangerous.

Tweet by then US President Barak Obama

2014

2014 Level of CO2 in atmosphere measuring above 400 ppm, and scientists voice concern that, without immediate and significant measures to lower global emissions, warming will not be stopped at 2 oC, which is still considered manageable for human societies. Sea level rise of 1–3 metres guaranteed with scientific reports that West Antarctic Ice sheet has begun irreversible melt. News reports that coastal cities like Miami, United States, already experiencing sea water incursions. In Miami’s state of Florida, leading politicians continue to deny the reality of climate change and its effects. Australia becomes first country to legislate to undo a national price on carbon pollution and a link to an emissions trading scheme. The carbon price was credited with lower emission measurements after two years in place before it was axed. Australian Government backpedals on successful renewable energy sector.

IPCC Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report

The Core Writing Team Synthesis Report IPCC

Core Writing Team Rajendra K. Pachauri (Chair), Myles R. Allen (United Kingdom), Vicente R. Barros (Argentina), John Broome (United Kingdom), Wolfgang Cramer (Germany/France), Renate Christ (Austria/WMO), John A. Church (Australia), Leon Clarke (USA), Qin Dahe (China), Purnamita Dasgupta (India), Navroz K. Dubash (India), Ottmar Edenhofer (Germany), Ismail Elgizouli (Sudan), Christopher B. Field (USA), Peers Forster (United Kingdom), Peerre Friedlingstein (United Kingdom/Belgium), Jan Fuglestvedt (Norway), Luis Gomez-Echeverri (Colombia), Stephane Hallegatte (France/World Bank), Gabriele Hegerl (United Kingdom/Germany), Mark Howden (Australia), Kejun Jiang (China), Blanca Jimenez Cisneros (Mexico/UNESCO), Vladimir Kattsov (Russian Federation), Hoesung Lee (Republic of Korea), Katharine J. Mach (USA), Jochem Marotzke (Germany), Michael D. Mastrandrea (USA), Leo Meyer (The Netherlands), Jan Minx (Germany), Yacob Mulugetta (Ethiopia), Karen O’Brien (Norway), Michael Oppenheimer (USA), Joy J. Pereira (Malaysia), Ramón Pichs-Madruga (Cuba), Gian-Kasper Plattner (Switzerland), Hans-Otto P?rtner (Germany), Scott B. Power (Australia), Benjamin Preston (USA), N.H. Ravindranath (India), Andy Reisinger (New Zealand), Keywan Riahi (Austria), Matilde Rusticucci (Argentina), Robert Scholes (South Africa), Kristin Seyboth (USA), Youba Sokona (Mali), Robert Stavins (USA), Thomas F. Stocker (Switzerland), Petra Tschakert (USA), Detlef van Vuuren (The Netherlands), Jean-Pascal van Ypersele (Belgium

Edited Rajendra K. Pachauri Chairman IPCC & Leo Meyer Head, Technical Support Unit IPCC

 2015

Paris COP21, China released its voluntary emission-reduction targets for 2030 : (i) Carbon emissions are set to peak around 2030, making best efforts to peak earlier; (ii) Carbon emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by 60–65% from the 2005 level; (iii) the share of non-fossil fuels in the primary energy consumption will be increased to 20%; and (iv) forest stocking volume will increase by 4.5 billion m3. These emission-reduction targets, if achieved, will have far-reaching effects on China’s future climate-change policy, businesses, and industries, and may contribute significantly to mitigation of regional and global climate change.

Unabated planetary warming and its ocean structure since 2006

Dean Roemmich, John Church, John Gilson, Didier Monselesan, Philip Sutton & Susan Wijffels

Nature Climate Change

2016

CLIMATE CHANGE Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus

Thomas R. Karl, Anthony Arguez, Boyin Huang, Jay H. Lawrimore, James R. McMahon, Matthew J. Menne, Thomas C. Peterson, Russell S. Vose, Huai-Min Zhang

Science magazine

 Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming

John Cook, Naomi Oreskes, Peter T Doran, William R L Anderegg, Bart Verheggen, Ed W Maibach, J Stuart Carlton, Stephan Lewandowsky, Andrew G Skuce, Sarah A Green

 “Those results are consistent with the 97% consensus reported by Cook et al (Environ. Res. Lett. 8 024024) based on 11 944 abstracts of research papers”

 The Paris Agreement; is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, The agreement's language was negotiated by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, near Paris, France.

Under the Paris Agreement, each country must determine, plan, and regularly report on the contribution that it undertakes to mitigate global warming. No mechanism forces a country to set a specific target by a specific date, but each target should go beyond previously set targets. In June 2017,

 Australia: One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts (elected to office with a total of 77 votes) a former mine manager, is confident in his understanding of the nature of evidence. He has claimed at length that climate change is an international conspiracy, furthered by international bankers and the United Nations in order to impose a socialist New World Order. Roberts revealed to Prof. Brian Cox on ABC TV Q&A, 15 August 2016, that ‘NASA and the Australian bureau of metrology are conspiring to manufacture climate data’ after Roberts said data did not exist and Cox proceeded to produce a graph of it he'd brought with him for the occasion.

Roberts: I'm saying two things. First of all, that the data has been corrupted and we know-…

Cox: What do you mean by "corrupted"? What do you mean?

Roberts: Been manipulated.

Cox: By who?

Roberts: By NASA.

Cox: NASA?

Audience: [laughter]

Cox: The accusation that NASA, the Australian, the Met Office in the UK, everybody is collaborating to manipulate global temperature data...

Roberts: Are you accusing me of saying they're collaborating?

Cox: What, they've all manipulated it in the same way and accidentally got to the same answer? Is that what you're saying?

2017

Continued retreat of Thwaits glacier, West Antarctica, controlled by bed topography and ocean circulation.

H.Seroussi, Y.Nakayama, E.Larour, JPL Pasadena

 Assessing ExxonMobil’s climate change communications (1977–2014)

Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes

Letter | Published: 13 September 2017

 Impact of a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius on Asia’s glaciers

P. D. A. Kraaijenbrink, M. F. P. Bierkens, A. F. Lutz & W. W. Immerzeel

 Thursday 9th February 2017 Future Prime minister of Australia Scott Morrison brings lump of coal into House of Representatives ‘question time’, promoting the governments fossil fuel based advocacy. 

On June 1, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, leaning on many dubious claims to support his decision.

"The Paris accord will undermine (the U.S.) economy," and "puts (the U.S.) at a permanent disadvantage."

2018

Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages

Terry P. Hughes, James T. Kerry, Andrew H. Baird, Sean R. Connolly, Andreas Dietzel, C. Mark Eakin, Scott F. Heron, Andrew S. Hoey, Mia O. Hoogenboom, Gang Liu, Michael J. McWilliam, Rachel J. Pears, Morgan S. Pratchett, William J. Skirving, Jessica S. Stella & Gergely Torda

Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017

The iMBiE team (The ice sheet mass balance inter-comparison exercise)

Andrew Shepherd, Erik Ivins, Eric Rignot, Ben Smith, Michiel van den Broeke, Isabella Velicogna, Pippa Whitehouse, Kate Briggs, Ian Joughin, Gerhard Krinner, Sophie Nowicki, Tony Payne, Ted Scambos, Nicole Schlegel, Geruo A, Cécile Agosta, Andreas Ahlstr?m, Greg Babonis, Valentina Barletta, Alejandro Blazquez, Jennifer Bonin, Beata Csatho, Richard Cullather, Denis Felikson, Xavier Fettweis, Rene Forsberg, Hubert Gallee, Alex Gardner, Lin Gilbert, Andreas Groh, Brian Gunter, Edward Hanna, Christopher Harig, Veit Helm, Alexander Horvath, Martin Horwath, Shfaqat Khan, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Hannes Konrad, Peter Langen, Benoit Lecavalier, Bryant Loomis, Scott Luthcke, Malcolm McMillan, Daniele Melini, Sebastian Mernild, Yara Mohajerani, Philip Moore, Jeremie Mouginot, Gorka Moyano, Alan Muir, Thomas Nagler, Grace Nield, Johan Nilsson, Brice Noel, Ines Otosaka, Mark E. Pattle, W. Richard Peltier, Nadege Pie, Roelof Rietbroek, Helmut Rott, Louise Sandberg-S?rensen, Ingo Sasgen, Himanshu Save, Bernd Scheuchl, Ernst Schrama, Ludwig Schr?der, Ki-Weon Seo, Sebastian Simonsen, Tom Slater, Giorgio Spada, Tyler Sutterley, Matthieu Talpe, Lev Tarasov, Willem Jan van de Berg, Wouter van der Wal, Melchior van Wessem, Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma, David Wiese & Bert Wouters

Extinction Rebellion formed London

2019

UNFCCC sixth assessment released

IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems (SRCCL).

96 Contributing Authors and 11 Chapter Scientists. Over 7,000 papers were assessed in this report.

The report received a total of 28,275 comments from expert reviewers and governments

IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC)

85 Contributing authors 10 Technical support units

__________________________________________________________________________" The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

― Albert Einstein

Question everything; Skepticism is the corner stone of all scientific endeavors. What is astounding is there are still so many who do not believe that climate change is real, despite the overwhelming body of scientific evidence. This has been due in part to well-funded and well organized groups of individuals whose vested interest is maintaining the Status Quo. Many of whom do actually believe that their own convictions out way that of a multitude of career scientists and over a century of scientific research.

When a statement is made in the media regarding climate change, ask these simple, yet important, questions.

1.      What is the source of the information?

2.      Is the source credible? (i.e.: is it backed up by peer reviewed scientific research and can that research be quoted)

3.      Has the data been corrupted or misinterpreted?

A statement on science is only valid if it comes from a reliable source and has the backing of peer reviewed scientific research. Anybody can make the statements; politicians, journalists, bloggers, economists, scientists who’s field is climatology, scientists who’s field is not climatology but think a PhD in anything gives them the right to make statements on subjects they no little or nothing about and  hair dressers etc. But if it doesn’t pass the ‘sniff test’ above, it doesn’t mean anything. I am not a scientist, I don’t need to be, but I can make statements with confidence because I back it up with the scientific evidence. Commentators make misleading statements on climate change all the time, if it is not backed up by the evidence, it is being pulled out of their rectums.