;)
Mark Walport's appearance before the Science and Technology Committee this morning - part of the 'public understanding of climate science' inquiry I took part in a month or so ago - alternated between breathtaking platitudes and moments of real interest.
Walport gives the impression of being someone who is highly skilled at sounding plausible on subjects about which he knows little and the MPs seemed impressed on the whole. The impact on me was less favourable.
I've jotted down a few of Walport's more extraordinary statements:
- The unique feature of climate change is the depth of the metanalysis of the IPCC.
- [How do you separate anthropogenic warming from natural variation?] It's the speed of the change which is unprecedented.
- [Is climate change manmade? Clearly some of it is?] The answer to your question is 'yes'.
- [Does climate change have benefits?] Benefits in some part of the world are matched by disbenefits in others.
There is also a question in which Stephen Mosley MP said that the committee had struggled to get sceptics to take part in the inquiry. Interestingly, Bob Ward quickly tweeted that the question related only to media sceptics - i.e. the newspaper editors, some of whom were invited to appear - rather than sceptics as a whole but this was dispelled by a later question and answer, in which the subject was discussed in the broader context of "sceptics".
I believe that I am the only sceptic who was invited to appear. In particular, I think I am right in saying that GWPF did not receive an invitation. I have tweeted to the Committee asking who else was invited.
Bishop Hill