Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, September 16, 2010: The Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC), Mr. Tom Harris, announces the appointment of
Professor Bob Carter, an Adjunct Research Fellow at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia as the Chief Science Advisor to the coalition. Professor Carter is the author of the important new book on climate science and policy, “
Climate: the Counter Consensus”.
The ICSC thanks Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada)
Professor Tim Patterson who acted as the coalition’s lead scientist during his 2.5 years as ICSC Chairman, and we look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Patterson as a member of the ICSC Science Advisory Board.
Dr. Carter has been on the ICSC Science Advisory Board since 2007. He now comments that “Working with ICSC as Chief Science Advisor is a welcome opportunity to counter the widespread but erroneous belief that dangerous global warming is occurring, and that it has human causation”. Professor Carter continued: “Science has yet to provide unambiguous evidence that problematic, or even measurable, human-caused global warming is occurring. Governments need to recognize that the really dangerous climate hazards are those of natural change, and to prepare more fully for them.”
The appointment of Professor Carter has been warmly welcomed by ICSC Founding Chairman, Terry Dunleavy of New Zealand. "Professor Carter is an ideal choice to be ICSC’s Chief Science Advisor,” said Mr. Dunleavy. “Like Dr. Patterson before him, Dr. Carter’s approach has always been measured, attracting converts from all sides of the political spectrum, always insisting that governments use evidence-based, unbiased science as a foundation of climate policy.”
Mr. Harris commented that ”Professor Carter has often noted that natural weather and climate hazards form a seamless continuum, and he has therefore long been a leading proponent for government climate policies that are based upon adaptation to dangerous climatic events as they occur, both warmings and coolings. Such an approach has recently been adopted by the British centre-right coalition government; importantly, the UK’s new policy of adaptation to natural change prudently serves also to cover the eventuality of human-caused change, should it ever emerge at measurable magnitudes.”
Further information on Professor Carter’s background can be found at his website, and includes the following information:
Professor Carter is a palaeontologist, stratigrapher, marine geologist and environmental scientist with more than 30 years professional experience, and holds degrees from the University of Otago (New Zealand) and the University of Cambridge (England). He has held tenured academic staff positions at the University of Otago (Dunedin) and James Cook University (Townsville), where he was Professor and Head of School of Earth Sciences between 1981 and 1999.
Professor Carter has served as Chair of the Earth Sciences Discipline Panel of the Australian Research Council, Chair of the national Marine Science and Technologies Committee, Director of the Australian Office of the Ocean Drilling Program, and Co-Chief Scientist on ODP Leg 181 (Southwest Pacific Gateways).
Bob Carter contributes regularly to public education and debate on scientific issues which relate to his areas of knowledge. His public commentaries draw on his knowledge of the scientific literature and a personal publication list of more than 100 papers in international science journals.
Bob Carter's current research on climate change, sea-level change and stratigraphy is based on field studies of Cenozoic sediments (last 65 million years) from the Southwest Pacific region, especially the Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand.
Professor Carter has acted as an expert witness on climate change before the U.S. Senate Committee of Environment & Public Works, the Australian and N.Z. parliamentary Select Committees into emissions trading and in a meeting in parliament house, Stockholm. He was also a primary science witness in the Hayes Windfarm Environment Court case in New Zealand, and in the U.K. High Court case of Dimmock v. H.M.'s Secretary of State for Education, the 2007 judgement which identified nine major scientific errors in Mr. Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth".
Bob's research has been supported by grants from competitive public research agencies, especially the Australian Research Council (ARC). He receives no research funding from special interest organizations such as environmental groups, energy companies or government departments.
The International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) is an apolitical association of independent scientists, economists and energy and policy experts who have joined together to promote better public understanding of climate science and policy worldwide. We wish to help create an environment in which a more rational, open discussion about climate issues emerge, thereby helping move the debate away from implementation of costly and ineffectual ‘climate control’ measures.
For more information about this appointment or the ICSC, please visit
climatescienceinternational.org, or contact any one of the following three ICSC representatives:
