Monday, March 1, 2010

Can U.N. Probe Calm Climate Science Storm?

Amy Harder

How can scientists overcome questions about the legitimacy of international climate change studies?

The U.N.'s International Panel on Climate Change said last week it is appointing an independent committee to review how it conducts its major reports. The U.N. had made a similar announcementas part of a broader review of the IPCC. The investigations follow revelations that the IPCC's influential 2007 report, which concluded that humans are likely to blame for global warming, contains numerous errors both small and large. Republican lawmakers have seized on the news, arguing that the EPA should forgo any plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as long as the IPCC science is not vetted.

Are the U.N. investigations enough? Should Congress do any type of independent investigation? Should EPA suspend its regulations until an investigation is completed? How does the IPCC controversy affect both domestic and international efforts to curb emissions? If you think there should not be any type of investigation, how can the IPCC and climate change supporters allay concerns that the science is not credible?

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