CO2 Not a Control Knob that Can Fine Tune Climate says Judith Curry to US Senate

CALGARY, Jan. 23, 2014 /CNW/ - "Attempts to modify the climate through reducing CO2 emissions may turn out to be futile," said top climate expert Judith Curry in her testimony to the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Jan. 16, 2014. This perspective is shared by Friends of Science who hold the position that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide.

Calls for low-carbon initiatives continue to lose ground according to Friends of Science, as evidence points away from carbon dioxide's role in global warming. Other factors appear to be more powerful climate drivers than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Judith Curry, Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a 30 year climate science veteran gave testimony that "The stagnation in greenhouse warming observed over the past 15+ years demonstrates that CO₂ is not a control knob that can fine tune climate variability on decadal and multi-decadal time scales."

This statement is in sharp contrast to demands from groups like the Pembina Institute whose energy policy papers call for a low-carbon future. Most recently Pembina claim that British Columbia's LNG developments will put that province on near par with Alberta's oil sands emissions, saying 'carbon pollution' will cause sea level rise and warming.

Curry's testimony states that "sea level rise during 1920-1950 is of the same magnitude as in 1993-2012" and that Antarctic sea ice is increasing, contrary to the claims of anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming proponents.

Curry notes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 WGI report a weakening case regarding human influences on climate change.  There has been a lack of warming since 1998. The Canadian climate model simulated 35-year tropical air temperature trend is 590% greater than the actual satellite measured temperature trend, according to Friends of Science.

The evidence shows decreased climate sensitivity to increases in atmospheric CO2, according to Curry's assessment. Low-carbon initiatives may be a futile and costly exercise.

The EU and UK, burdened by climate change debt, are rapidly abandoning targets, as reported in Der Spiegel Jan. 15, 2014 as "Green Fade-out: Europe to Ditch Climate Protection Goals."

Friends of Science hold the position that the sun is the main driver of climate change.  Current unusual solar patterns and the long-term decline of some 30% since 1990 in the sun's magnetic field are more likely to significantly affect climate than human-made CO2 emissions.

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.

SOURCE: Friends of Science Society

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