Friday 11 July 2008

The Minister claimed that an IPCC report was doctored to remove arguments that human activity had little or no impact on the climate. WWF contacted the leading experts following the Minister's statement to the Environment Committee last week.

"The science of climate change could not be clearer. The world is warming at unprecedented rates due to human action and the impacts, already being observed in every corner of the world, will become more and more serious and even life threatening to some, over the coming years. Northern Ireland is not immune to these impacts," said professor at the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia and a lead author in the IPCC, Neil Adger.

"Anyone who disputes these facts is either a fool or is seeking deliberately to mislead for political or other purposes. The IPCC is the most rigorous science available - on its evidence every country, province and indeed individual needs to act now - anything else is a dereliction of our duty of care to ourselves and our future," he explained.

The IPCC is a UN body made up of more than 2,500 scientists from all across the world and is widely regarded as the world's leading authority on climate change.

"To suggest that IPCC assessments are somehow falsified or doctored is ludicrous. In 30 years of research I have not seen any work more carefully and thoroughly done than that by the IPCC," said senior author and co-chair of an IPCC working group, Martin Parry.

WWF has been campaigning for Northern Ireland to play its part in tackling climate change by setting tighter emissions targets and investing in its extensive potential for renewable energy.

"WWF Northern Ireland is concerned that Mr Wilson's own personal view on climate change appears to fly in the face of the mass of evidence from all around the world and the official view of the department for which he is responsible. Rather than disputing a scientifically accepted consensus, we need urgent action on climate change and believe we should be preparing Northern Ireland for a low-carbon future to tackle our rising emissions and spiralling energy costs," said policy officer at WWF Northern Ireland, Malachy Campbell.