query: The Independent Climate Change Email Review found the CRU scientists were unhelpful and unsympathetic to information requesters and at times broke FoI laws.

positive: Freedom of Information requests to the Climatic Research Unit Freedom of Information requests to the Climatic Research Unit featured in press discussions of disputes over access to data from instrumental temperature records , particularly during the Climatic Research Unit email controversy which began in November 2009 .   The UK Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) came into effect in 2005 , and FOI requests were made to the Climatic Research Unit ( CRU ) at the University of East Anglia ( UEA ) for the raw data from weather stations used in developing instrumental temperature record datasets , for copies of agreements under which the raw data was obtained from meteorology institutions , and also for email correspondence relating to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report .   In many cases the raw data which CRU had obtained from National Meteorological Organisations was subject to restrictions on redistribution : on 12 August 2009 CRU announced that they were seeking permission to waive these restrictions , and on 24 November 2009 the university stated that over 95 % of the CRU climate data set had already been available for several years , with the remainder to be released when permissions were obtained . In a decision announced on 27 July 2011 the Information Commissioner 's Office ( ICO ) required release of raw data even though permissions had not been obtained or in one instance had been refused , and on 27 July 2011 CRU announced release of the raw instrumental data not already in the public domain , with the exception of Poland which was outside the area covered by the FOIA request .   A 2008 FOI request by David Holland for emails discussing work on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report was refused by the university . In November 2009 he alleged that CRU emails posted online discussed deleting the emails he had requested : in January 2010 the Deputy Information Commissioner told a journalist that this indicated an offence under section 77 of the FOIA , but prosecution was time-barred by statute of limitations . Newspapers misrepresented this as a decision in relation to raw data , and the issue was discussed by the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry , which found there had been a lack of openness . The ICO decision published on 7 July 2010 stated that this potential offence had not been investigated as it was time-barred . As Holland was content not to proceed with his complaint against the university , no further action was needed , but the ICO would `` consider whether further action is appropriate to secure future compliance . ''   In September 2011 the ICO issued new guidance to universities . This described exceptions and exemptions to protect research , including allowance for internal exchange of views between academics and researchers free from external scrutiny , as well as commending actively disclosing information when it is in the public interest .

positive: Climatic Research Unit documents Climatic Research Unit documents including thousands of e-mails and other computer files were stolen from a server at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in a hacking incident in November 2009 . The documents were redistributed first through several blogs of global warming skeptics , and allegations were made that they indicated misconduct by leading climate scientists . A series of investigations rejected these allegations , while concluding that CRU scientists should have been more open with distributing data and methods on request . Precisely six committees investigated the allegations and published reports , finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct . The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged by the end of the investigations .   The incident occurred shortly before the opening December 2009 Copenhagen global climate summit . It has prompted general discussion about increasing the openness of scientific data ( though the majority of climate data have always been freely available ) . Scientists , scientific organisations , and government officials have stated that the incident does not affect the overall scientific case for climate change . Andrew Revkin reported in the New York Times that `` The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument . ''

positive: Climatic Research Unit email controversy The Climatic Research Unit email controversy ( also known as `` Climategate '' ) began in November 2009 with the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit ( CRU ) at the University of East Anglia ( UEA ) by an external attacker , copying thousands of emails and computer files , the Climatic Research Unit documents , to various internet locations several weeks before the Copenhagen Summit on climate change .   The story was first broken by climate change denialists with columnist James Delingpole popularising the term `` Climategate '' to describe the controversy . Several people considered climate change `` skeptics '' argued that the emails showed global warming was a scientific conspiracy , that scientists manipulated climate data and attempted to suppress critics . The CRU rejected this , saying the emails had been taken out of context and merely reflected an honest exchange of ideas .   The mainstream media picked up the story as negotiations over climate change mitigation began in Copenhagen on 7 December 2009 . Because of the timing , scientists , policy makers and public relations experts said that the release of emails was a smear campaign intended to undermine the climate conference . In response to the controversy , the American Association for the Advancement of Science ( AAAS ) , the American Meteorological Society ( AMS ) and the Union of Concerned Scientists ( UCS ) released statements supporting the scientific consensus that the Earth 's mean surface temperature had been rising for decades , with the AAAS concluding , `` based on multiple lines of scientific evidence that global climate change caused by human activities is now underway ... it is a growing threat to society . ''   Eight committees investigated the allegations and published reports , finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct . However , the reports called on the scientists to avoid any such allegations in the future by taking steps to regain public confidence in their work , for example by opening up access to their supporting data , processing methods and software , and by promptly honouring freedom of information requests . The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged throughout the investigations .

negative: Climatic Research Unit The Climatic Research Unit ( CRU ) is a component of the University of East Anglia and is one of the leading institutions concerned with the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change .   With a staff of some thirty research scientists and students , the CRU has contributed to the development of a number of the data sets widely used in climate research , including one of the global temperature records used to monitor the state of the climate system , as well as statistical software packages and climate models .

negative: Freedom of information laws by country Freedom of Information laws ( FOI laws ) allow access by the general public to data held by national governments . The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making . They establish a `` right-to-know '' legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information , to be received freely or at minimal cost , barring standard exceptions . Also variously referred to as open records , or sunshine laws ( in the United States ) , governments are typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness . In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information , but these are usually unused if specific support legislation does not exist .

negative: Climate Commission The Climate Commission was an independent body established in 2011 by the Federal Government of Australia to communicate `` reliable and authoritative information '' about climate change in Australia . Abolished by a newly elected government in September 2013 , it was relaunched as an independent non-profit organisation called the Climate Council .

negative: Criticism of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ( AR4 ) is a report on climate change created with the help of a large number of contributors , both scientists and governmental representatives . There has been considerable political controversy over a small number of errors found in the report , and there have been calls for review of the process used to formulate the report . The overwhelming majority view of scientists with expertise in climate change is that errors , when found , are corrected , and the issues as identified do not undermine the conclusions of the report that the climate system is warming in response to increased levels of greenhouse gases , largely due to human activities .

negative: Attorney General of Virginia's climate science investigation The Attorney General of Virginia 's climate science investigation was a `` Civil Investigative Demand '' initiated in April 2010 by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for a wide range of records held by the University of Virginia related to five grant applications for research work by a leading climate scientist Michael E. Mann , who was an assistant professor at the university from 1999 to 2005 . The demand was issued under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act in connection with claims by Cuccinnelli that Mann had possibly violated state fraud laws in relation to five research grants , by allegedly manipulating data . No evidence of wrongdoing was presented to support the claim . Mann 's earlier work had been targeted by climate change skeptics in the hockey stick controversy , and allegations against him were renewed in late 2009 in the Climatic Research Unit email controversy but found to be groundless in a series of investigations .   Widespread concerns were raised by University of Virginia 's faculty and numerous scientists and science organizations that Cuccinelli 's actions posed a threat to academic freedom , and would have a chilling effect on research in the state . The university filed a court petition and the judge dismissed Cuccinelli 's demand on the grounds that no justification had been shown for the investigation . Cuccinelli tried to re-open his case by issuing a revised subpoena , and appealed the case to the Virginia Supreme Court . The case was defended by the university , and the court ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the authority to make these demands . The outcome was hailed as a victory for academic freedom .

negative: Climate Council The Climate Council is an Australian independent non-profit organisation formed to provide independent , authoritative climate change information to the Australian public . It was formed by former members of the Climate Commission after it was abolished by the federal government . It is funded by donations from the public .

negative: Christopher C. Horner Christopher C. Horner is an attorney in Washington , D.C. and a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who opposes the mainstream view of climate change and has been prominent in promoting climate change denial . He is the author of three books disputing the scientific evidence for man-made global warming . Horner had a financial relationship with coal companies who provided him with funds . Horner has been criticized for hounding climate scientists with frivolous requests for documentation and emails .

negative: Climate Change Authority The Climate Change Authority is an Australian statutory agency established under the Climate Change Authority Act 2011 . It began operations on 1 July 2012 . Its role is to review various climate change policies , including the Carbon Farming Initiative and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting system , and to advise the Australian Government and Parliament on other matters as requested . The Authority has no legislative or executive powers , which remain with the Government and Parliament of the day .   The Authority is presently undertaking a Special Review into Australia 's policies and targets for reducing emissions in the context of its international commitments and those of other countries . The Special Review is due to be completed by 30 June 2016 .   The Authority has a Board comprising a Chair and eight permanent members : Dr Wendy Craik ( Chair ) , Stuart Allinson ( Acting Chair ) , Kate Carnell AO , Professor David Karoly , Professor John Quiggin , Professor Clive Hamilton , The Hon. John Sharp , Dr Alan Finkel and Danny Price . A tenth member , Andrew Macintosh , sits as an associate member until the conclusion of the Special Review . Dr Finkel is an ex officio member of the Authority as Australia 's Chief Scientist , replacing the former Chief Scientist Ian Chubb .   The original Chair of the Authority was former Reserve Bank of Australia Governor and Treasury Secretary , Bernie Fraser . He resigned from the position in September 2015 .   The agency is based in Melbourne where it has the advantage of being able to work closely with the Productivity Commission . The agency was allocated A$ 6.2 million in the 2012-13 financial year . The Australian Government , under Liberal leadership , is in the process of abolishing the Climate Change Authority , a move which has been heavily criticised .

negative: Skeptical Science Skeptical Science ( occasionally abbreviated SkS ) is a climate science blog and information resource created in 2007 by Australian cognitive scientist John Cook . In addition to publishing articles on current events relating to climate science and climate policy , the site maintains a large database of articles analyzing the merit of arguments commonly put forth by those who oppose the mainstream scientific opinion on climate change .

negative: Science Review Board The Science Advisory Board is a United States group of independent scientists selected by the Administrator of the EPA to advise on the scientific and technical aspects of environmental problems and issues and who , at the request of the Administrator , review the scientific aspects of any reports or other written products prepared by the agency . Congress established the Board when it enacted the Environmental Research , Development , and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 ( P.L. 95-477 ) .

negative: Surveys of scientists' views on climate change Surveys of scientists ' views on climate change - with a focus on human-caused or anthropogenic global warming ( AGW ) - have been undertaken since the 1990s . A 2016 paper ( which was co-authored by Naomi Oreskes , Peter Doran , William Anderegg , Bart Verheggen , Ed Maibach , J. Stuart Carlton and John Cook , and which was based on a half a dozen independent studies by the authors ) concluded that `` the finding of 97 % consensus -LSB- that humans are causing recent global warming -RSB- in published climate research is robust and consistent with other surveys of climate scientists and peer-reviewed studies . ''

negative: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP .  The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . ''   The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources .   Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries .   The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore .

negative: Lucia Liljegren Lucia Liljegren is an American mechanical engineer who has worked at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ( on projects related to remediation and storage of radioactive waste ) and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University . She is best known ( as Lucia ) for her global warming/climate change blog The Blackboard ( Where Climate Talk Gets Hot ! ) , online since 2007 . Professor Judith Curry , a climatologist at Georgia Tech , calls Lucia `` probably the least controversial person in the climate blogosphere , because of her cheerfulness and sense of humor , honesty , and open mindedness . ''   In the climate change debate , Lucia classifies herself as a `` lukewarmer '' : a person who recognizes global warming , but doubts the severity of the problem , and the certainty of climate science predictions .   The Blackboard was one of the first sites to post some of the CRU emails leaked in the 2009 Climatic Research Unit email controversy .

negative: San Diego Journal of Climate and Energy Law The San Diego Journal of Climate and Energy Law ( Bluebook abbreviation : San Diego J. Climate & Energy L. ) is a student-run law review published at the University of San Diego School of Law . The journal primarily publishes articles and comments discussing environmental law and policy with a particular focus on issues relating to climate change and energy .

negative: Science Under Siege Science Under Siege : The Politicians ' War on Nature and Truth is a 1998 book by journalist Todd Wilkinson . Wilkinson describes the careers of a variety of publicly employed scientists who , in the course of their work for government agencies , found habitat degradation , threatened species , or other decline in availability of a natural resource . When they expressed their views that certain activities must be scaled back or areas protected , they met with poor job performance ratings , hostility from their supervisors , transfers out of the region , and in many cases a severely damaged career . Science is `` under siege '' in these cases because many of the researchers were told to modify their scientific reports so that commercial uses or environmentally destructive activities could continue .

negative: Macur Review The Macur Review is an independent review established by the British government in 2012 to review the Waterhouse inquiry .   Its remit was set as follows :   `` To review the scope of the Waterhouse Inquiry , and whether any specific allegations of child abuse falling within the terms of reference were not investigated by the Inquiry , and to make recommendations to the Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales . ''   It is chaired by Lady Justice Macur DBE .

negative: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ( OAIC ) is an independent Australian  Government agency , acting as the national data protection authority for Australia , established under the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 , headed by the Australian Information Commissioner .   The OAIC has three primary functions :  privacy functions , conferred by the Privacy Act 1988 ( Privacy Act ) and other laws  freedom of information functions , in particular , oversight of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 ( the FOI Act ) and review of decisions made by agencies and ministers under that Act  government information policy functions , conferred on the Australian Information Commissioner under the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 .   The OAIC is an agency within the Attorney-General 's portfolio . The OAIC liaises with the Business and Information Law Branch , part of the Civil Law Division within the Civil Justice and Legal Services Group of the Attorney-General 's Department ( AGD ) . However , the OAIC is an independent agency and reports directly to the Parliament of Australia , not to the Attorney-General .

negative: Phil Jones (climatologist) Philip Douglas Jones ( born April 22 , 1952 ) retired from his positions as the Director of the Climatic Research Unit ( CRU ) and as a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia ( UEA ) at the end of 2016 . Jones was replaced as CRU director by Tim Osborn and has taken up a position as a Professorial Fellow at the UEA from January 2017 .   His research interests include instrumental climate change , palaeoclimatology , detection of climate change and the extension of riverflow records in the UK . He has also published papers on the temperature record of the past 1000 years .   He is known for maintaining a time series of the instrumental temperature record . This work was featured prominently in both the 2001 and 2007 IPCC reports , where he was a contributing author to Chapter 12 , Detection of Climate Change and Attribution of Causes , of the Third Assessment Report and a Coordinating Lead Author of Chapter 3 , Observations : Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change , of the AR4 .

negative: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Climate Change 2007 , the Fourth Assessment Report ( AR4 ) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific , technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change , its potential effects , and options for adaptation and mitigation . The report is the largest and most detailed summary of the climate change situation ever undertaken , produced by thousands of authors , editors , and reviewers from dozens of countries , citing over 6,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies .   It supersedes the Third Assessment Report ( 2001 ) , and is superseded by the Fifth Assessment Report .   The headline findings of the report were : `` warming of the climate system is unequivocal '' , and `` most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations . ''

negative: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is a research institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science founded in May 2008 . The centre is a partner of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College and acts as an umbrella body for LSE 's overall research contributions to the field of climate change and its impact on the environment . Furthermore , the institute oversees the activities of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy ( CCCEP ) , a partnership between LSE and the University of Leeds .   Both Grantham research centres are sponsored through the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment , established by Hannelore and Jeremy Grantham in 1997 . The combined investments totalling approximately # 24 million is recognised as one of the largest private contributions to climate change research . CCCEP is funded independently by the ESRC .   The institute is currently chaired by Lord Nicholas Stern of Brentford , former Chief Economist of the World Bank and author of the widely known Stern Review .   The purpose of the Institute is to increase knowledge and understanding on climate change and the environment ; promote better informed decision-making ; and educate and train new generations of researchers through its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes .   The institute 's main research activities are divided into five different areas :   1 . Global response strategies   2 . Green growth   3 . Practical aspects of climate policy   4 . Adaptation and development   5 . Resource security   The research of the institute is characterised by its interdisciplinary nature and brings together international expertise on economics , finance , geography , the environment , international development and political economy , as the centre 's academic staff comprise a broad range of disciplines , including physicists , climatologists , economists , statisticians , political scientists and various other social scientists .   In September 2015 , the institute hosted the Open Energy Modelling Initiative workshop .

negative: Hillary Clinton email controversy In March 2015 , it became publicly known that Hillary Clinton , during her tenure as United States Secretary of State , had used her family 's private email server for official communications , rather than official State Department email accounts maintained on federal servers . Those official communications included thousands of emails that would retroactively be marked classified by the State Department .   The controversy unfolded against the backdrop of Clinton 's 2016 presidential election campaign and hearings held by the United States House Select Committee on Benghazi . Some experts , officials , and members of Congress have contended that her use of private messaging system software and a private server violated State Department protocols and procedures , as well as federal laws and regulations governing recordkeeping . In response , Clinton has said that her use of personal email was in compliance with federal laws and State Department regulations , and that former secretaries of state had also maintained personal email accounts , though not their own private email servers .   After allegations were raised that some of the emails in question contained classified information , the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) initiated an investigation regarding the origin and handling of classified emails on Clinton 's server . The FBI Report found that some of the emails originated in five other intelligence agencies . The FBI found that all classified emails on Clinton 's server were stored and sent from `` unclassified systems '' , violating the same policies as those on Clinton 's personal server .   FBI Director James Comey identified 110 emails as containing information that was classified at the time it was sent , including 65 emails deemed `` Secret '' and 22 deemed `` Top Secret '' . None of these had classification markings . However , as noted in Clinton 's non-disclosure agreement , unmarked classified information should be treated the same as marked classified information . An additional three email chains contained `` portion markings '' , simply a '' ( C ) '' indicating `` Confidential '' in front of one or more paragraphs . These were not included in Comey 's list of 110 because the State Department failed to confirm they were classified at the time they were sent . Clinton told the FBI she did not know the meaning of '' ( C ) '' . Nearly 2,100 emails on the server were retroactively marked as classified by the State Department .   In May 2016 , the State Department 's Office of the Inspector General released an 83-page report about the State Department 's email practices , including Clinton 's . On July 5 , 2016 , Comey announced that the FBI 's investigation had concluded that Clinton was `` extremely careless '' in handling her email system but recommended that no charges be filed against her . On July 6 , 2016 , Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that no charges would be filed .   On July 7 , the State Department reopened its probe into the email controversy . On October 28 , 2016 , Comey notified Congress that the FBI had started looking into newly discovered emails that may be pertinent to the case . Law enforcement officials stated the emails were found on a laptop belonging to Clinton aide Huma Abedin 's husband , Anthony Weiner , during an investigation of his sexting scandals . On November 6 , Comey notified Congress that the FBI had not changed its conclusion , reached in July , regarding Clinton 's emails .

negative: Shotgun email Shotgun email refers to an email requesting information or action that only requires the efforts of one person but is sent to multiple people in an effort to guarantee that at least one person will respond . The shotgun email often results in multiple people responding to something already accomplished and therefore results in a loss of overall productivity . Shotgun emailing is considered poor internet etiquette .   An example would be a person of authority in a business organization sending out an email to five technicians in the information technology department of his company to let them know his printer is broken . One technician responds with an on-site call and fixes the problem . Later in the day , other technicians follow-up to fix the printer that is already back in order . Shotgun emails can also be request for information or other tasks .   The blind shotgun email occurs when the sender uses the blind co-copy feature of an email program to hide the fact that a shotgun email is in use . This is considered particularly deceitful .

negative: Cold email A cold email is an unsolicited e-mail that is sent to a receiver without prior contact or a request for information previously . It could also be defined as the email equivalent of cold calling . Cold emails are different from spam mails . If some proper procedures are not followed , a cold email could become a spam mail .


query: With 32 years of  rapidly increasing global temperatures and only a minor increase in  global CO2 emissions, followed by 33 years of slowly cooling global  temperatures with rapid increases in global CO2 emissions, it was  deceitful for the IPCC to make any claim that CO2 emissions were  primarily responsible for observed 20th century global warming."

positive: Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports.  Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors.

positive: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP .  The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . ''   The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources .   Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries .   The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore .

negative: Mitigation of aviation's environmental impact Aviation affects the environment due to aircraft engines emitting noise , particulates , and gases which contribute to climate change and global dimming . Despite emission reductions from automobiles and more fuel-efficient ( and therefore less polluting ) turbofan and turboprop engines , the rapid growth of air travel in recent years contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation . In the EU , greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87 % between 1990 and 2006 .   At present aviation accounts for 2.5 % of global CO2 emissions . Due to projected growth in air travel , in the most technologically radical scenarios for having a better than 50 % chance of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius , in 2050 aviation will make up 15 % of global CO2 emissions . In more conventional scenarios its emissions will exceed the entire global carbon budget before then . This presents governments and the operators of aircraft with a responsibility to reduce the aviation industry 's emissions .

negative: IPCC First Assessment Report The First Assessment Report ( FAR ) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) was completed in 1990 . It served as the basis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) .   The report was issued in three main sections , corresponding to the three Working Groups of scientists that the IPCC had established .   Working Group I : Scientific Assessment of Climate Change , edited by J.T. Houghton , G.J. Jenkins and J.J. Ephraums  Working Group II : Impacts Assessment of Climate Change , edited by W.J. McG . Tegart , G.W. Sheldon and D.C. Griffiths  Working Group III : The IPCC Response Strategies   Each section included a summary for policymakers . This format was followed in subsequent Assessment Reports .   The executive summary of the policymakers ' summary of the WG I report includes :   We are certain of the following : there is a natural greenhouse effect ... ; emissions resulting from human activities are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases : CO2 , methane , CFCs and nitrous oxide . These increases will enhance the greenhouse effect , resulting on average in an additional warming of the Earth 's surface . The main greenhouse gas , water vapour , will increase in response to global warming and further enhance it .  We calculate with confidence that : ... CO2 has been responsible for over half the enhanced greenhouse effect ; long-lived gases would require immediate reductions in emissions from human activities of over 60 % to stabilise their concentrations at today 's levels ...  Based on current models , we predict : under -LSB- BAU -RSB- increase of global mean temperature during the -LSB- 21st -RSB- century of about 0.3 oC per decade ( with an uncertainty range of 0.2 to 0.5 oC per decade ) ; this is greater than that seen over the past 10,000 years ; under other ... scenarios which assume progressively increasing levels of controls , rates of increase in global mean temperature of about 0.2 oC -LSB- to -RSB- about 0.1 oC per decade .  There are many uncertainties in our predictions particularly with regard to the timing , magnitude and regional patterns of climate change , due to our incomplete understanding of : sources and sinks of GHGs ; clouds ; oceans ; polar ice sheets .  Our judgement is that : global mean surface air temperature has increased by 0.3 to 0.6 oC over the last 100 years ... ; The size of this warming is broadly consistent with predictions of climate models , but it is also of the same magnitude as natural climate variability . Thus the observed increase could be largely due to this natural variability ; alternatively this variability and other human factors could have offset a still larger human-induced greenhouse warming . The unequivocal detection of the enhanced greenhouse effect is not likely for a decade or more .  under the IPCC business as usual emissions scenario , an average rate of global mean sea level rise of about 6 cm per decade over the next century ( with an uncertainty range of 3 -- 10 cm per decade ) , mainly due to thermal expansion of the oceans and the melting of some land ice . The predicted rise is about 20 cm ... by 2030 , and 65 cm by the end of the next century .

negative: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

negative: Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15) was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 8 October 2018. The report, approved in Incheon, South Korea, includes over 6,000 scientific references, and was prepared by 91 authors from 40 countries. In December 2015, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference called for the report. The report was delivered at the United Nations' 48th session of the IPCC to "deliver the authoritative, scientific guide for governments" to deal with climate change.Its key finding is that meeting a 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) target is possible but would require "deep emissions reductions" and "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society." Furthermore, the report finds that "limiting global warming to 1.5 °C compared with 2 °C would reduce challenging impacts on ecosystems, human health and well-being" and that a 2 °C temperature increase would exacerbate extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, coral bleaching, and loss of ecosystems, among other impacts. SR15 also has modelling that shows that, for global warming to be limited to 1.5 °C, "Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching 'net zero' around 2050." The reduction of emissions by 2030 and its associated changes and challenges, including rapid decarbonisation, was a key focus on much of the reporting which was repeated through the world.

negative: Climate change mitigation scenarios Climate change mitigation scenarios are possible futures in which global warming is reduced by deliberate actions , such as a comprehensive switch to energy sources other than fossil fuels . A typical mitigation scenario is constructed by selecting a long-range target , such as a desired atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) , and then fitting the actions to the target , for example by placing a cap on net global and national emissions of greenhouse gases .   An increase of global temperature by more than 2 ° C has come to be the majority definition of what would constitute intolerably dangerous climate change with efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels per the Paris Agreement . Some climate scientists are increasingly of the opinion that the goal should be a complete restoration of the atmosphere 's preindustrial condition , on the grounds that too protracted a deviation from those conditions will produce irreversible changes .

negative: Mitigation of global warming in Australia Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming . This is in distinction to adaptation to global warming , which involves taking action to minimise the effects of global warming . Scientific consensus on global warming , together with the precautionary principle and the fear of non-linear climate transitions , is leading to increased effort to develop new technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming .   Carbon capture and storage ( CCS ) for coal-fired power stations has been put forward as a solution to rising greenhouse gas emissions . However , CCS can not deliver in time to avoid dangerous increases in temperatures , as widespread commercial use of CCS is not expected before 2030 .   Following the introduction of government mandatory renewable energy targets , more opportunities have opened up for renewable energy technologies such as wind power , photovoltaics , and solar thermal technologies . The deployment of these technologies provides opportunities for mitigating greenhouse gases .   A carbon price was introduced on 1 July 2012 by the government of Julia Gillard with the purpose of reducing Australia 's carbon emissions . It requires large businesses ( defined as those with annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over 25,000 tonnes annually ) to pay a price for emissions permits . The tax was scrapped by the Abbott government in July 2014 in what was a widely criticised and highly publicised move .

negative: Sustainable automotive air conditioning Sustainable automotive air conditioning is the subject of a debate -- nicknamed the Cool War -- about the next-generation refrigerant in car air conditioning . The Alliance for CO2 Solutions supports the uptake of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) as a refrigerant in passenger cars , and the chemical industry is developing new chemical blends .   The Alliance and its supporters -- scientists , NGOs and business leaders -- urge the car industry to replace high global warming chemical substances with the natural refrigerant carbon dioxide ( CO2 , R744 / R-744 ) in car cooling and heating . This , they argue , would lead to 10 % less car emissions , and knock out 1 % of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide . If CO2 Technology is applied in other sectors , such as commercial and industrial refrigeration , heat pumps for water heating etc. , it may even save up to 3 % of the world 's greenhouse gases .   Opponents of the Alliance claim that CO2 Technology is not cost-efficient and safe , hence seeking to postpone the global industry decision to be taken to develop new chemical blends instead .

negative: Environmental impact of aviation The environmental impact of aviation occurs because aircraft engines emit heat , noise , particulates and gases which contribute to climate change and global dimming . Among others airplanes emit particles and gases such as carbon dioxide , water vapor , hydrocarbons , carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides , sulfur oxides , lead and black carbon which interact among themselves and with the atmosphere .   Despite emission reductions from automobiles and more fuel-efficient and less polluting turbofan and turboprop engines , the rapid growth of air travel in recent years contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation . From 1992 to 2005 , passenger kilometers increased 5.2 % per year . And in the European Union , greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87 % between 1990 and 2006 .   Comprehensive research shows that despite anticipated efficiency innovations to airframes , engines , aerodynamics and flight operations , there is no end in sight -- even many decades out -- to rapid growth in CO2 emissions from air travel and air freight , due to projected continual growth in air travel . This is because international aviation emissions have escaped international regulation up to the ICAO triennial conference in October 2016 agreed on the CORSIA offset scheme , and because of the lack of taxes on aviation fuel worldwide , lower fares become more frequent than otherwise which gives a competitive advantage over other transportation modes . Unless market constraints are put in place this growth in aviation 's emissions will result in the sector 's emissions amounting to all or nearly all of the annual global emissions budget by mid-century , if climate change is to be held to a temperature increase of 2 ° C or less .   There is an ongoing debate about possible taxation of air travel and the inclusion of aviation in an emissions trading scheme , with a view to ensuring that the total external costs of aviation are taken into account .

negative: Mesopause The mesopause is the temperature minimum at the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere atmospheric regions . Due to the lack of solar heating and very strong radiative cooling from carbon dioxide , the mesosphere is the coldest region on Earth with temperatures as low as -100 ° C ( -148 ° F or 173 K ) . The altitude of the mesopause for many years was assumed to be at around 85 km ( 53 mi . ) , but observations to higher altitudes and modeling studies in the last 10 years have shown that in fact the mesopause consists of two minima - one at about 85 km and a stronger minimum at about 100 km . ( 62 mi . )   Another feature is that the summer mesopause is cooler than the winter ( sometimes referred to as the mesopause anomaly ) . It is due to a summer-to-winter circulation giving rise to upwelling at the summer pole and downwelling at the winter pole . Air rising will expand and cool resulting in a cold summer mesopause and conversely downwelling air results in compression and associated increase in temperature at the winter mesopause . In the mesosphere the summer-to-winter circulation is due to gravity wave dissipation , which deposits momentum against the mean east-west flow , resulting in a small north-south circulation .   In recent years the mesopause has also been the focus of studies on global climate change associated with increases in CO2 . Unlike the troposphere , where greenhouse gases result in the atmosphere heating up , increased CO2 in the mesosphere acts to cool the atmosphere due to increased radiative emission . This results in a measurable effect - the mesopause should become cooler with increased CO2 . Observations do show a decrease of temperature of the mesopause , though the magnitude of this decrease varies and is subject to further study . Modeling studies of this phenomenon have also been carried out .

negative: Carbon respiration Carbon respiration ( also called carbon emissions and carbon releases ) is used in combination with carbon fixation to gauge carbon flux ( as CO2 ) between atmospheric carbon and the global carbon cycle .

negative: Low-carbon emission The main components of automobile exhaust are carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) and water vapor ( H2O ) . Carbon dioxide is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas ( GHG ) and the most significant Greenhouse Gas emitted in the U.S. ( with 82-84 % of all U.S. emissions ) . Increases in carbon dioxide concentration are due primarily to fossil fuel use and land-use change .   The CO2 emission standards can be referred to the fuel or to the vehicle :   The European Union is moving towards fuel mandatory CO2 standards and USA has reflected it in the Greenhouse Gas Score .  There are information , but no mandatory , standards for CO2 limits in vehicle ( engine ) emissions , excepting some state regulations ( i.e. California ) . See hybrid vehicles .   CO2 mass emission in vehicles is measured in g/km ( g/mi * 0.621371192 = g/km ) .

negative: Climate change in Japan Climate change in Japan is being addressed at a governmental level .   The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) proposes two hypothetical future scenarios . One is Scenario `` A1B '' based on the assumption that a future world will have more global economic growth ( the concentration of carbon dioxide will be 720ppm in 2100 ) . The other is Scenario `` B1 '' based on the assumption that a future world will have global green economy ( the concentration of carbon dioxide will be 550ppm in 2100 ) .   Earth Simulator calculations , reveal the daily increase in mean temperature in Japan during the period of 2071 to 2100 . The temperature has increased by 3.0 ° C in Scenario B1 and 4.2 ° C in A1B compared to that of 1971 to 2000 . Similarly , the daily maximum temperature in Japan increased by 3.1 ° C in B1 and 4.4 ° C in A1B . The precipitation in summer in Japan increased steadily due to global warming ( the annual average precipitation increased by 17 % in Scenario B1 and by 19 % in Scenario A1B during the period of 2071 to 2100 compared to that of 1971 to 2000 ) .   Currently , Japan is a world leader in the development of new climate-friendly technologies . Honda and Toyota hybrid electric vehicles were named to have the highest fuel efficiency and lowest emissions . The fuel economy and emissions decrease is due to the advanced technology in hybrid systems , biofuels , use of lighter weight material and better engineering .   As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol , and host of the 1997 conference which created it , Japan is under treaty obligations to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps related to curbing climate change . The Cool Biz campaign introduced under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was targeted at reducing energy use through the reduction of air conditioning use in government offices .

negative: Global warming in Antarctica The effects of global warming in Antarctica may include rising temperatures and increasing snow melt .

negative: Sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is the concept of visiting a place as a tourist and trying to make only a positive impact on the environment , society and economy . Tourism can involve primary transportation to the general location , local transportation , accommodations , entertainment , recreation , nourishment and shopping . It can be related to travel for leisure , business and what is called VFR ( visiting friends and relatives ) . There is now broad consensus that tourism development should be sustainable ; however , the question of how to achieve this remains an object of debate .   Without travel there is no tourism , so the concept of sustainable tourism is tightly linked to a concept of sustainable mobility . Two relevant considerations are tourism 's reliance on fossil fuels and tourism 's effect on climate change . 72 percent of tourism 's CO2 emissions come from transportation , 24 percent from accommodations , and 4 percent from local activities . Aviation accounts for 55 % of those transportation CO2 emissions ( or 40 % of tourism 's total ) . However , when considering the impact of all greenhouse gas emissions from tourism and that aviation emissions are made at high altitude where their effect on climate is amplified , aviation alone accounts for 75 % of tourism 's climate impact .   The International Air Transport Association ( IATA ) considers an annual increase in aviation fuel efficiency of 2 percent per year through 2050 to be realistic . However , both Airbus and Boeing expect the passenger-kilometers of air transport to increase by about 5 percent yearly through at least 2020 , overwhelming any efficiency gains . By 2050 , with other economic sectors having greatly reduced their CO2 emissions , tourism is likely to be generating 40 percent of global carbon emissions . The main cause is an increase in the average distance travelled by tourists , which for many years has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of trips taken . `` Sustainable transportation is now established as the critical issue confronting a global tourism industry that is palpably unsustainable , and aviation lies at the heart of this issue ( Gossling et al. , 2010 ) . ''

negative: Planetary equilibrium temperature The planetary equilibrium temperature is a theoretical temperature that a planet would be at when considered simply as if it were a black body being heated only by its parent star . In this model , the presence or absence of an atmosphere ( and therefore any greenhouse effect ) is not considered , and one treats the theoretical black body temperature as if it came from an idealized surface of the planet .   Other authors use different names for this concept , such as equivalent blackbody temperature of a planet , or the effective radiation emission temperature of the planet . Similar concepts include the global mean temperature , global radiative equilibrium , and global-mean surface air temperature , which includes the effects of global warming .

negative: Global warming in Russia Global warming in Russia describes the global warming related issues in Russia . This includes climate politics , contribution to global warming and the influence of global warming on Russia . In 2009 Russia was ready to reduce emissions 20 -- 25 % from its 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 .

negative: The 2030 °Challenge The 2030 ° Challenge is an initiative by Edward Mazria and Architecture 2030 asking the global architecture and construction community to adopt a series of greenhouse gas reduction targets for new and renovated buildings .   In many developed countries the construction and use of buildings is the leading consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gas emissions . Stabilizing and reversing emissions in this sector is key to keeping future global warming under one degree celsius ( ° C ) above today 's level , in order to avoid increased global warming , potentially to reach a tipping point .

negative: Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non-profit organization based in Tempe , Arizona . The Center produces a weekly online science newsletter called CO2Science .   The Center was founded and is run by Craig D. Idso , along with Sherwood B. Idso , his father , and Keith E. Idso , his brother . They came from backgrounds in agriculture and climate . According to the Idsos , they became involved in the global warming controversy through their study of earth 's temperature sensitivity to radiative perturbations and plant responses to elevated CO2 levels and carbon sequestration . The Center sharply disputes the consensus scientific opinion on climate change shown in IPCC assessment reports , and believes that global warming will be beneficial to mankind .

negative: List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming This is a list of scientists who have made statements that conflict with the scientific consensus on global warming as summarized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and endorsed by other scientific bodies . As approximately 97 % of publishing climate scientists support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change , this list represents a minority viewpoint .   The scientific consensus is that the global average surface temperature has risen over the last century . Scientific opinion on climate change was summarized in the 2001 Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) . The main conclusions on global warming at that time were as follows :  The global average surface temperature has risen 0.6 ± 0.2 ° C since the late 19th century , and 0.17 ° C per decade in the last 30 years .  `` There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities '' , in particular emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane .  If greenhouse gas emissions continue the warming will also continue , with temperatures projected to increase by 1.4 ° C to 5.8 ° C between 1990 and 2100 . Accompanying this temperature increase will be increases in some types of extreme weather and a projected sea level rise . The balance of impacts of global warming become significantly negative at larger values of warming .   These findings are recognized by the national science academies of all the major industrialized nations ; the consensus has strengthened over time and is now virtually unanimous . The level of consensus correlates with expertise in climate science .   There have been several efforts to compile lists of dissenting scientists , including a 2008 US senate minority report , the Oregon Petition , and a 2007 list by the Heartland Institute , all three of which have been criticized on a number of grounds .   For the purpose of this list , a `` scientist '' is defined as an individual who has published at least one peer-reviewed research article in the broad field of natural sciences , although not necessarily in a field relevant to climatology . Since the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report , each has made a clear statement in his or her own words ( as opposed to the name being found on a petition , etc. ) disagreeing with one or more of the report 's three main conclusions . Their views on climate change are usually described in more detail in their biographical articles . Few of the statements in the references for this list are part of the peer-reviewed scientific literature ; most are from other sources such as interviews , opinion pieces , online essays and presentations .   NB : Only individuals who have their own Wikipedia article may be included in the list .

negative: Global warming hiatus A global warming hiatus , also sometimes referred to as a global warming pause or a global warming slowdown , is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures . In the current episode of global warming many such 15-year periods appear in the surface temperature record , along with robust evidence of the long-term warming trend ; climate is classically averaged over 30-year periods .   Publicity has surrounded claims of a global warming hiatus during the period 1998 -- 2013 . The exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998 was an outlier from the continuing temperature trend , and so subsequent annual temperatures gave the appearance of a hiatus : by January 2006 , it appeared to some that global warming had stopped or paused . A 2009 study showed that decades without warming were not exceptional , and in 2011 a study showed that if allowances were made for known variability , the rising temperature trend continued unabated . There was increased public interest in 2013 in the run-up to publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report , and despite concerns that a 15-year period was too short to determine a meaningful trend , the IPCC included a section on a hiatus , which it defined as a much smaller increasing linear trend over the 15 years from 1998 to 2012 , than over the 60 years from 1951 to 2012 . Various studies examined possible causes of the short-term slowdown . Even though the overall climate system has continued to accumulate energy due to Earth 's positive energy budget , the available temperature readings at the Earth 's surface indicate slower rates of increase in surface warming than in the prior decade . Since measurements at the top of the atmosphere show that Earth is receiving more energy than it is radiating back into space , the retained energy should be producing warming in the Earth 's climate system .   Research reported in July 2015 on an updated NOAA dataset casts doubt on the existence of a hiatus , and it finds no indication of a slowdown even in earlier years . Scientists working on other datasets welcomed this study , though they have expressed the view that the recent warming trend was less than in previous periods of the same length . Subsequently , a detailed study supports the conclusion that warming is continuing , but it also find there was less warming between 2001 and 2010 than climate models had predicted , and that this slowdown might be attributed to short-term variations in the Pacific decadal oscillation ( PDO ) , which was negative during that period . Another review finds `` no substantive evidence '' of a pause in global warming . A statistical study of global temperature data since 1970 concludes that the term ` hiatus ' or ` pause ' is not justified .   Independent of these discussions about data and measurements for earlier years , 2015 turned out to be much warmer than any of the earlier years , already before El Niño conditions started . The warmth of 2015 largely ended any remaining scientific credibility of claims that the supposed `` hiatus '' since 1998 had any significance for the long-term warming trend . In January 2017 , a study published in the journal Science Advances cast further doubt on the existence of a recent pause , with more evidence that ocean temperatures have been underestimated . An April 2017 study found the data consistent with a steady warming trend globally since the 1970s , with fluctuations within the expected range of short term variability .

negative: 350.org 350 . org is an international environmental organization encouraging citizens to action with the belief that publicizing the increasing levels of carbon dioxide will pressure world leaders to address climate change and to reduce levels from 400 parts per million to 350 parts per million . It was founded by author Bill McKibben with the goal of building a global grassroots movement to raise awareness about human-driven climate change , to confront climate change denial , and to cut emissions of carbon dioxide in order to slow the rate of global warming . 350 . org takes its name from the research of Goddard Institute for Space Studies scientist James E. Hansen , who posited in a 2007 paper that 350 parts-per-million ( ppm ) of CO2 in the atmosphere is a safe upper limit to avoid a climate tipping point .

negative: Environmental impact of transport The environmental impact of transport is significant because it is a major user of energy , and burns most of the world 's petroleum . This creates air pollution , including nitrous oxides and particulates , and is a significant contributor to global warming through emission of carbon dioxide , for sector . By subsector , road transport is the largest contributor to global warming .   Environmental regulations in developed countries have reduced the individual vehicle 's emission ; however , this has been offset by an increase in the number of vehicles , and more use of each vehicle . Some pathways to reduce the carbon emissions of road vehicles considerably have been studied . Energy use and emissions vary largely between modes , causing environmentalists to call for a transition from air and road to rail and human-powered transport , and increase transport electrification and energy efficiency .   The transportation sector is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions ( GHGs ) in the United States . An estimated 30 percent of national GHGs are directly attributable to transportation -- and in some regions , the proportion is even higher . Transportation methods are the greatest contributing source of GHGs in the U.S. , accounting for 47 percent of the net increase in total U.S. emissions since 1990 .   Other environmental impacts of transport systems include traffic congestion and automobile-oriented urban sprawl , which can consume natural habitat and agricultural lands . By reducing transportation emissions globally , it is predicted that there will be significant positive effects on Earth 's air quality , acid rain , smog and climate change .   The health impact of transport emissions is also of concern . A recent survey of the studies on the effect of traffic emissions on pregnancy outcomes has linked exposure to emissions to adverse effects on gestational duration and possibly also intrauterine growth .   As listed above direct impacts such as noise and carbon monoxide emissions create direct and harmful effects on the environment , along with indirect impacts . The indirect impacts are often of higher consequence which leads to the misconception that it 's the opposite since it is frequently understood that initial effects cause the most damage . For example , particulates which are the outcome of incomplete combustion done by an internal combustion engine , are not linked with respiratory and cardiovascular problems since they contribute to other factors not only to that specific condition . Even though the environmental impacts are usually listed individually there are also cumulative impacts . The synergetic consequences of transport activities . They take into account of the varied effects of direct and indirect impacts on an ecosystem . Climate change is the sum total impact of several natural and human-made factors . 15 % of global CO2 emissions are attributed to the transport sector .

negative: Carbon dioxide flooding Carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) flooding is a process whereby carbon dioxide is injected into an oil reservoir in order to increase output when extracting oil .   When a reservoir 's pressure is depleted through primary and secondary production , carbon dioxide flooding can be an ideal tertiary recovery method . It is particularly effective in reservoirs deeper than 2,500 ft. , where will be in a supercritical state , with API oil gravity greater than 22 -- 25 ° and remaining oil saturation greater than 20 % . It should also be noted that carbon dioxide flooding is not affected by the lithology of the reservoir area , but simply by the reservoir porosity and permeability , so that it is viable in both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs .  By injecting CO2 into the reservoir , the viscosity of any hydrocarbon will be reduced and hence will be easier to sweep to the production well .   As an oil field matures and production rates decline , there is growing incentive to intervene and attempt to increase oil output utilizing tertiary recovery techniques ( also termed improved or enhanced oil recovery ) . Petroleum engineers assess available options for increasing well productivity , options that include chemical injection , thermal/steam injection , and CO2 injection . Based on data-gathering and computer simulations , the most optimal enhanced oil-recovery technique to maximize well-productivity is determined . To increase the rate of oil production , the pressure within the reservoir must be increased .   In CO2 flooding , the first step is injection of water into the reservoir , which will cause the reservoir pressure to increase . Once the reservoir has sufficient pressure , the next step is to pump the CO2 down through the same injection wells . The CO2 gas is forced into the reservoir to come into contact with the oil . This creates a miscible zone that can be moved more easily to the production well . Normally the CO2 injection is alternated with water injection and the water acts to sweep the oil towards the production zone .   CO2 flooding is the second most common tertiary recovery technique and is used in facilities around the world . In connection with greenhouse gas emissions and global warming , CO2 flooding sequesters underground and therefore offsets CO2 emissions elsewhere .

negative: Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally .   Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be .   Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming .

negative: Carbon price Carbon pricing -- the method favored by many economists for reducing global-warming emissions -- charges those who emit carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) for their emissions . That charge , called a carbon price , is the amount that must be paid for the right to emit one tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere . Carbon pricing usually takes the form either of a carbon tax or a requirement to purchase permits to emit , generally known as cap-and-trade , but also called `` allowances '' .   Carbon pricing solves the economic problem that , a known greenhouse gas , is what economics calls a negative externality -- a detrimental product that is not priced ( charged for ) by any market . As a consequence of not being priced , there is no market mechanism responsive to the costs of CO2 emitted . The standard economic solution to problems of this type , first proposed by Arthur Pigou in 1920 , is for the product - in this case , CO2 emissions - to be charged at a price equal to the monetary value of the damage caused by the emissions . This should result in the economically optimal ( efficient ) amount of CO2 emissions . Many practical concerns mar the theoretical simplicity of this picture : for example , the exact monetary damage caused by a tonne of CO2 is uncertain .   The economics of carbon pricing is much the same for taxes and cap-and-trade . Both prices are efficient ; they have the same social cost and the same effect on profits if permits are auctioned . However , some economists argue that caps prevent non-price policies , such as renewable energy subsidies , from reducing carbon emissions , while carbon taxes do not . Others argue that an enforced cap is the only way to guarantee that carbon emissions will actually be reduced ; a carbon tax will not prevent those who can afford to do so from continuing to generate emissions .   The choice of pricing approach , a tax or cap-and-trade , has been controversial . A carbon tax is generally favored on economic grounds for its simplicity and stability , while cap-and-trade is often favored on political grounds . Recently ( 2013 − 14 ) economic opinion has been shifting more heavily toward taxes as national policy measures , and toward a neutral carbon-price-commitment position for the purpose of international climate negotiations .

negative: Total equivalent warming impact Total equivalent warming impact or TEWI is besides global warming potential measure used to express contributions to global warming .   It is defined as sum of the direct emissions ( chemical ) and indirect emissions ( energy use ) of greenhouse gases .

negative: Vincent R. Gray __ NOTOC __   Vincent Richard Gray ( born 24 March 1922 ) is a New Zealand-based chemist , and a founder of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition .   Born in London on 24 March 1922 , Gray was awarded a PhD in physical chemistry by the University of Cambridge after studies on incendiary bomb fluids made from aluminium soaps . In New Zealand , he was the first Director of Building Research and later , Chief Chemist of the Coal Research Association .  He has also published many articles and reports , seven in peer-reviewed journals . After retirement , he had four and a half years in China and when he returned became a critic of the claim that climate was harmed by human emissions of greenhouse gases .   He has commented on every publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , with 1,898 comments on the 2007 Report . He has published critical studies on all of the reports including a book `` The Greenhouse Delusion : A Critique of ` Climate Change 2001 ' '' . He has published `` Confessions of a Climate Sceptic ''  He is sceptical of the anthropogenic global warming :  `` The two main `` scientific '' claims of the IPCC are the claim that `` the globe is warming '' and `` Increases in carbon dioxide emissions are responsible '' . Evidence for both of these claims is fatally flawed . ''   Gray has called for the IPCC to be abolished , claiming it is `` fundamentally corrupt '' due to his conclusion that for significant parts of the work of the IPCC , the data collection and scientific methods employed are unsound and that the IPCC resists all efforts to try to discuss or rectify these problems .   Gray was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program Counterpoint in a debate entitled `` Nine Lies about Global Warming '' , and was interviewed in a featured story in the New Zealand Herald as a `` prominent '' global warming skeptic .   In 2002 , Gray also published a book , The Greenhouse Delusion : A Critique of `` Climate Change 2001 '' . In it , Gray argues `` that the quality and reliability of the IPCC 's measurements are poor , the system of determining how much weight should be attributed to different influences on the earth 's temperature is faulty , and the validity of evidence derived from computer modeling is questionable . ''

negative: Global Climate and Energy Project The Global Climate and Energy Project ( GCEP ) at Stanford University , `` seeks new solutions to one of the grand challenges of this century : supplying energy to meet the changing needs of a growing world population in a way that protects the environment . ''   Beginning in December 2002 , GCEP is a 10-year , $ 225m research project aimed at developing new energy technologies . These new energy technologies include areas of interest such as renewable energy , CO2 capture and storage , hydrogen storage and electrocatalysis . It has the support of four major companies - ExxonMobil , General Electric , Schlumberger , and Toyota . Under the heading `` Grand Challenge '' , it identifies a global warming-related need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through future energy development .

negative: Debate over China's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation This article documents the debate over China 's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation and mitigation of climate change in China .   Both internationally and within the People 's Republic of China , there has been an ongoing debate over China 's responsibilities , particularly since 2006 , when China surpassed the US as the country with the highest emissions rate for the main atmospheric gas in global warming , carbon dioxide ( CO2 )

negative: Soil respiration Soil respiration refers to the production of carbon dioxide when soil organisms respire . This includes respiration of plant roots , the rhizosphere , microbes and fauna .   Soil respiration is a key ecosystem process that releases carbon from the soil in the form of CO2 . CO2 is acquired from the atmosphere and converted into organic compounds in the process of photosynthesis . Plants use these organic compounds to build structural components or respire them to release energy . When plant respiration occurs below-ground in the roots , it adds to soil respiration . Over time , plant structural components are consumed by heterotrophs . This heterotrophic consumption releases CO2 and when this CO2 is released by below-ground organisms , it is considered soil respiration .   The amount of soil respiration that occurs in an ecosystem is controlled by several factors . The temperature , moisture , nutrient content and level of oxygen in the soil can produce extremely disparate rates of respiration . These rates of respiration can be measured in a variety of methods . Other methods can be used to separate the source components , in this case the type of photosynthetic pathway ( C3/C4 ) , of the respired plant structures .   Soil respiration rates can be largely affected by human activity . This is because humans have the ability to and have been changing the various controlling factors of soil respiration for numerous years . Global climate change is composed of numerous changing factors including rising atmospheric CO2 , increasing temperature and shifting precipitation patterns . All of these factors can affect the rate of global soil respiration . Increased nitrogen fertilization by humans also has the potential to effect rates over the entire Earth .   Soil respiration and its rate across ecosystems is extremely important to understand . This is because soil respiration plays a large role in global carbon cycling as well as other nutrient cycles . The respiration of plant structures releases not only CO2 but also other nutrients in those structures , such as nitrogen . Soil respiration is also associated with positive feedbacks with global climate change . Positive feedbacks are when a change in a system produces response in the same direction of the change . Therefore , soil respiration rates can be effected by climate change and then respond by enhancing climate change .

negative: Alset GmbH Alset Global GmbH is an Austrian technology and engineering company based in Graz that is specialised in hydrogen-based clean mobility solutions . Alset Global developed a Hybrid Hydrogen system of which the technology is patented . According to Alset Global , this technology is unique as it offers to run an internal combustion engine on either pure petrol , pure hydrogen or a combination of both . This technology offers a new sustainable and clean alternative to the automotive industry ( OEMs , vehicle fleets as well as ships and planes ) . This technology has been developed to create an alternative technology to meet with new emission target levels . In addition , Alset Global is specialised in hydrogen system integration , hydrogen gas storage and software development to utilise the hydrogen hybrid technology in the automotive industry .   Alset 's Hybrid Hydrogen technology was featured on an Aston Martin Rapide S during the Nürburgring 24-Hour race in Germany . The Aston Martin Rapide S became the first hydrogen-powered car to compete in a 24-Hour race and generate zero CO2 emissions during an international motor race

negative: Cool Earth 50 Cool Earth 50 ( also known as Cool Earth ) is a plan developed by Japan to reduce global CO2 emissions 50 % by 2050 , which was discussed at the 34th G8 summit . Cool Earth 50 is planned to be a framework that would continue towards the goals set forth in the Kyoto Protocols . This plan includes three proposals : a long-term strategy , a mid-term strategy and launching a national campaign for achieving the Kyoto Protocol Target .   The plan was first proposed on May 24 , 2007 at an international conference called Asian Future and was initiated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe . The program 's goal is to reduce current global green house emissions by 50 % by the year 2050 the . The goal of reduction was aimed particular towards the largest green house emitting countries The United States , China , Japan , and India . Also , for the major green house emitters to create a frame work for reduction . Cool Earth aims at reducing green house emissions by improve technology in energy fields . A large goal of Cool Earth is to promote economic prosperity through green technology and to encourage political stability domestically and internationally .