Climate change researches

Climate change skeptics often argue that the science is still open to question and that researchers need to carry out further study. However, a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that experts in the field share a “striking agreement” with the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The study finds that the expertise and prominence of climate researchers convinced by the evidence of climate change “vastly overshadows that of the climate change skeptics and contrarians.”

The report also alludes to the media presentation of both sides in the climate change debate, which it says has helped foster public misunderstanding. The reason: Not all climate researchers “are equal in scientific credibility and expertise in the climate system.”

When it comes to judging “he mainstream versus skeptical/contrarian researchers,” the study argues for a stronger consideration of “expert credibility in the relative weight of and attention to these groups of researchers in future discussions in media, policy, and public forums regarding anthropogenic climate change.”

Among its findings:

97-98% of the climate researchers who most actively publish in the field support the thesis outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Greenhouse gases are responsible for “most” of the “unequivocal” warming of the Earth’s average global temperature during the second half of the 20th century.

The report comes even as public opinion remains split. A recent Gallup survey carried out for Yale University found that 40% of Americans believe scientists remain of two minds about global warming. (At the same time 68% favored the idea of an international treaty binding the United States to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 90% by the year 2050.)

The study only considered researchers who had demonstrated climate expertise, setting a minimum a 20 climate-publications to be considered.

source: cbsnews.com

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