A private communiqué

The hijacking of learned institutions by political activists is something of a theme at BH, and today's news brings further depressing evidence that the situation has not changed. It seems that the managers of a group of UK learned societies have decided to try to influence the political agenda ahead of the Paris conference, issuing a joint call to arms (another one!), no doubt without consulting a single one of their members.

The communiqué opens with a decidedly shonky statement about the scientific evidence:

The scientific evidence is now overwhelming that the climate is warming and that human activity is largely responsible for this change through emissions of greenhouse gases.

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At the RSE

Tonight, I'm off to the Royal Society of Edinburgh for a discussion forum:

Facing up to Climate Change

Climate change will affect us all, for example in energy, food security, population migration and competition for resources. Scotland, given its long history as a major contributor to rising greenhouse gas levels and access to renewable energy resources, has a role to play. The RSE Inquiry ‘Facing up to Climate Change’ sought evidence from a wide variety of people and organisations to highlight the opportunities of a transition to a low-carbon future and the barriers to change. Lord Turner and Professor Sugden will discuss what the challenges are and what the future may hold.

I wonder if Geoffrey Boulton will be there. I'll be tweeting occasionally.