Climate change deniers should try facts before pandering fiction

Letter submitted to the Morning Star newspaper:

Your correspondent Jean Johnson  ("Other views on CO2 needed," Morning Star, 10 July 2019) is entitled to hold whatever views on climate change she wants. But she should not confuse her opinions with objective facts.

She claims the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is not made up of the world's most important  scientists, but "simply government civil servants." This is demonstrably wrong. The IPCC web site states clearly its meetings are: "attended by hundreds of officials and experts from relevant ministries, agencies and research institutions from member countries and from Observer Organizations." (https://www.ipcc.ch/). Research institutions include many universities. She can consult the web site to see the range of participant expertise.

She is also wrong to assert that the most important scientific institution of the United States- which is the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/ ) - "dismisses claims  made in respect of CO2-induced global warming." In a Statement on climate science by the three presidents of the  Academies, on 18 June 2019, they state:

"Scientists have known for some time, from multiple lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate, primarily through greenhouse gas emissions. The evidence on the impacts of climate change is also clear and growing. The atmosphere and the Earth’s oceans are warming, the magnitude and frequency of certain extreme events are increasing, and sea level is rising along our coasts.The National Academies are focused on further understanding climate change and how to limit its magnitude and adapt to its impacts, including on health. We also recognize the need to more clearly communicate what we know. To that end, in 2018, the National Academies launched an initiative to make it easier for decision makers and the public to use our extensive body of work to inform their decisions. In addition, we will be expanding our Based on Science communications effort to include clear, concise, and evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions about climate change.A solid foundation of scientific evidence on climate change exists. It should be recognized, built upon, and most importantly, acted upon for the benefit of society."

A search of the Academies document index on  climate change brings up no less than 5,375  items!

And as recently as 4-8 March 2019, a meeting was hosted in Kazan, in Russia,  to further develop the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). This Special Report "evaluates how the ocean and life in it as well as those areas of the Earth where water is found in its solid state, for example in the icy polar or high-mountain regions, will be affected by climate change. It assesses what these changes might mean for people around the world and how those changes may challenge a sustainable and equitable future," according to the IPCC.(https://www.ipcc.ch/2019/02/28/srocc-lam4/)

That does not like a scientific establishment  boycotting the IPCC's work.