The IPCC's latest serve of climate catastrophism, released just before the UN General Assembly met in New York last month, ironically contained some good news. But not even "inadequate" models, "limited" observations, poor understanding, dodgy "projections" and revelations about "deep uncertainty" could rein in the hyperbole.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN agency that "assesses" the status of climate-change science and produces reports on it. It also prepares a Summary for Policymakers (SPM). This document is crafted to be digestible by climate bureaucrats, national leaders and the media,
most of whom have been drip-fed alarmist rhetoric for years, if not decades.
The IPCC is an odd outfit. Created in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it is no surprise to learn its
Secretariat is located in the latter's Geneva building. Except for the Secretary Abdalah Mokssit
, a Moroccan applied mathematician and meteorologist,
most of its 18 staff seem to be "communications and media specialists" or administrators. The current chair is Hoesung Lee, a South Korean economist. He was elected in late 2015, after
Rajendra Pachauri. resigned under a cloud of
sexual harassment allegations.
The assessment reports are described as "neutral, policy relevant but not policy prescriptive". Translation: we are not telling you what to do, but encourage you to do what we are telling you. They are "drafted and reviewed in several stages". This byzantine process with its own jargon - "a calibrated language for the communication of confidence" - apparently ensures "objectivity and transparency". The IPCC does not conduct its own research.
Comment: A few heatwaves does not equal global warming; 2019 seems like it'll be a repeat of last years record breaking cold, except even more extreme: This winter's record breaking brutal weather documented in epic list - and it's not over yet (2018)
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