Bishop Hill The respected David King
Jul 16, 2011 Carbon credits Climate: WG3 The former chief scientist Sir David King is in the news again, this time calling for the Kyoto Protocol to be replaced with carbon rationing.
The world should abandon the Kyoto protocol on climate change and move instead to a system where each nation would have a carbon emissions quota based on population, the UK's former chief scientist has urged, in an explosive contribution to the long-running climate negotiations.
Sir David King is one of the most respected figures in climate change policy. He is the architect of the UK's response to global warming, credited with reviving the flagging climate talks in 2004 when he called the problem "a greater threat than international terrorism".
As readers here know, Sir David was responsible for a truly extraordinary bit of "hiding the decline" in his book on global warming. It therefore speaks volumes about the Guardian that they describe him as "one of the most respected figures in climate change policy". I hate to think how the less respected ones behave.
Reader Comments (17)
Anyone found a link to Sir David's report? The Guardian (helpfully!) has no link to it and it's not, as far as I can see, on the website of the Smith School, for whom Sir David did the report. Ho hum.
Sir David on climategate:
(broadcast on Newsnight by the BBC):
“Let me also make this allegation for the first time in public. It’s an extraordinarily sophisticated piece of work to hack into all of these emails and mobile phone conversations, right?”
see http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/24/bbc-botches-grade-school-co2-science-experiment-on-live-tv-with-indepedent-lab-results-to-prove-it/
In the light of recent revelations about UEA/CRU engaging the services of Outside Organisation, who allegedly later turn out to be involved in phone hacking, this is an interesting statement, no?
Why did David King decide to make an unsupported allegation about phone hacking with respect to the climategate 'hacker(s)'? Was he primed to do so by someone who knows all about that illegal activity?
"one of the most respected figures in climate change policy"
Well be fair he is by the 2 people who brought his book and the BBC ! hmm given the The Guardian's reputation for spelling errors maybe the meant 'resented'? .
RichieRich --
The Guardian article says that "King ... will publish a report on Monday."
If the UK is to go to Durban, it is good to know the delegates will be getting advice from King, that conflicts with that from Greenpeace. They can argue amongst themselves, for as long as they like
These days, 'respected' is often how we refer to old buffers we have no wish to criticize or denigrate personally, but neither to we have any intention of listening to them.
"He is one of the most respected figures in climate change policy."
Not saying much, is it? It's like saying he's one of the most respected figures in the England football team.
Via James Delingpole' Blog 1st February 2010
Sir David said, however, that it was not possible to dismiss the possibility of Russia’s involvement. “If it was a job done on behalf of a government, then I suppose there is the possibility that it could be the Russian intelligence agency,” he said.
and via Rupert Wyndham (Butle_Letter_31032008) in a meeting in Russia where David King was espousing the evidence for AGW and when questioned about the evidence:
“Sir David King, embarrassed at having been caught out, said he had never been so insulted
in all his life. He flounced out of the meeting, followed by the rest of the British delegation."
It merely shows the poor state of Climate Science or should it be Climate Pseudo-science!
Note to Government Chief Scientific Advisors past and present:
Carbon dioxide is merely a useful trace gas. The notion that it is changing the world's climate is a fiction. The sooner that you realise you have fallen victim to a groupthink fallacy the better. Warmism is an irrational belief system. A GCSA who departs from the Royal Society's 'Nullius in verbs' motto is worse than useless - he's a liability. When the gross confidence trick of AGW finally collapses, may you both be paraded through the streets of London on a carnival float under a banner inviting the populace to show their contempt for you by throwing rotten vegetables.
Well, Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was one of the most respected members of the drink supply industry in 1920s Chicago.
So I can understand that the Grauniad mobsters wouldn't want to diss Sir David King, even if in my opinion he is a fountainhead of dogma, incompetence, greed and malice.
de Freitas has some kickass emails in the Climategate set. He totally rips up the bollocks that the team built up over the Soon and Baliunas paper - the entire story of how the whole editorial board 'resigned in protest over the paper' when it is clear from the emails that they plotted precipitating such a move behind the scenes, and the 'board' consisted of three CRU members.
(Which, by the way reminds me - it is always strange to note whose actions affect the Team. Half the world can point out that the hockey stick is bogus - they wouldn't even as bat an eyelid. A Willie Soon or a Freeman Dyson has to say the same thing and their eyes are shot with blood and their panties go in a twist)
BTW, why does Google offer no links to any searchable climategate email databases, and the eastangliaemails.com server is down. Could anybody please point me toward a working full set of the climategate emails?
Sir David is close to ask ordinary people -i.e. not IPCC, UNEP, UN related- to skip a breathing every minute...
Wrong thread for my comment
[Snip - venting]
Does this idiot believe that India and China (over 36%) of the world's population will agree to carbon rationing?
Spen:
They don't have to, the global financiers and carbon traders are making a fortune from CDM projects in India, China and Brazil. It's the West that has to shut down because we have used too much of the atmosphere in the past. Simples.
The Carbon Budget idea has been running since at least 1997, Schellnhuber has just been selling it again in Australia to help Julia Gillard.
Certain Europeans seem to have periodic problems with wanting to take over the world.