Author and Economist Ross McKitrick will Address Climate Policy Implications of The Pause in Global Warming May 13, 2014 at Friends of Science Luncheon in Calgary

CALGARY, April 10, 2014 /CNW/ - After 16+ years of no global warming, renowned economist and author Ross McKitrick says the divergence between forecasts made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and reality "will likely soon force a deep re-think of the basic assumptions on which global climate policy is based."

According to earlier IPCC predictions, global mean temperatures should have gone up - instead over the past 16+ years there's be a 'pause' or 'haitus'. In fact, global warming paused before the Kyoto Protocol was implemented. Temperatures have remained stagnant despite a rise in carbon dioxide.

The divergence between climate model forecasts and reality has major implications for climate change policies of governments, investors, corporations, and industry. Greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policies and climate change initiatives are predicated on carbon dioxide being the major factor in warming, and that urgent efforts are required to 'stop dangerous climate change' by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Evidence grows indicating that the actual effects of GHGs have been greatly exaggerated by climate models. Consequently GHG reduction plans, low-carbon initiatives, and carbon taxes (or carbon risk - to investors) to address the alleged social costs of carbon or the much-touted urgency of reducing emissions, is likely based on faulty assessments.

McKitrick's presentation is intended for the general public. This non-technical overview will discuss the increasing divergence between observed temperatures and predictions of climate models.

Ross McKitrick authored "What is Wrong with the IPCC?" in 2011 for the Global Warming Policy Foundation of the UK, outlining the need for a significant overhaul of the world's climate behemoth that, like the weather, seems to blow hot and cold. Media reports about the 'climate impacts' of the recent IPCC Working Group II (WGII) report from Yokahama, Japan ramped up claims of impending climate doom which directly contradict the IPCC's Physical Sciences report conclusions and "Key Uncertainties" that was released last fall.

Ken Gregory, research director for Friends of Science, disputes the recent WGII report saying, "The IPCC report claims CO2 emissions will reduce crop yields and erode food security. In fact, higher CO2 levels and warming enhances crop yields and increases the global arable area. The IPCC claims warming is harmful to health, but numerous studies show living in warmer, more temperate climates increases longevity."

Gregory points out that the Dutch government is also calling for an overhaul of the IPCC stating that the IPCC's focus on human factors of climate change, excludes natural factors and therefore gives inaccurate and incomplete information.

Ticket information for Ross McKitrick's May 13, 2014 presentation at the 11th Annual Friends of Science Luncheon at the Met Centre in downtown Calgary can be found at www.friendsofscience.org

About
Friends of Science have spent a decade reviewing a broad spectrum of literature on climate change and have concluded the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2). The core group of the Friends of Science is made up of retired earth and atmospheric scientists.

Image with caption: "Ross McKitrick (CNW Group/Friends of Science Society)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140410_C9140_PHOTO_EN_39048.jpg

Image with caption: "Canadian Climate Model, Multi-Model Average and Global Temperatures (CNW Group/Friends of Science Society)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140410_C9140_PHOTO_EN_39060.jpg

SOURCE: Friends of Science Society

Friends of Science Society
P.O. Box  23167, Connaught P.O.
Calgary, Alberta
Canada T2S 3B1
Toll-free Telephone: [phone]
Web: friendsofscience.org
E-mail: [email protected]