Royal Society says climate change man made

The Royal Society has today (September 30) announced climate change is manmade and while the evidence is not 100% policy must be set now to tackle it.


Information from ‘extensive published scientific work’ has been complied into a guide prepared by leading international scientists, mostly drawn from the Fellowship of the Society.

The document Climate change: a summary of the science, describes how and why the earth is currently warming.

And, explains the wide range of independent measurements and observations which underpin this understanding.

It shows that there is ‘strong evidence’ that over the last half century, the earth’s warming has been caused largely by human activity.

It also explains the uncertainty involved in predicting the size of future temperature increases.

The guide concludes that, as in many other areas, policy choices will have to be made in the ‘absence of perfect knowledge’, but the scientific evidence is an essential part of public reasoning in this complex and challenging area.

Vice-president of the Royal Society and chair of the working group that wrote the document, John Pethica, said: “Climate change is an important issue affecting everyone.

“Much of the public debate on climate change is polarised at present, which can make it difficult to get a good overview of the science.

“This guide explains where the science is clear and established, and also where it is less certain.

“It is not a simple guide, as this is not a simple issue. This summary has been produced for all who want to understand the full range of the scientific evidence.”

Luke Walsh

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