The Global Warming Policy Foundation has criticised the Independent Climate Change Email Review for a lack of openness and transparency in its inquiry. In response, the GWPF has announced that it has commissioned its own investigation into the way the three Climategate inquiries have been set up, how they were conducted an how they arrived at their conclusions.
The investigation will be conducted by Andrew Montford. Andrew Montford is the author of The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the Corruption of Science, a history of some of the events leading up to the release of emails and data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The findings of the report will be published at the end of August.
Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation said that the conclusions of the Russell inquiry are unlikely to restore public confidence in climate science.
He welcomed the report’s condemnation of the University of East Anglia’s “consistent pattern” of failure to adhere to Freedom of Information requests which reinforces today’s judgement by the Information Commissioner that the university had breached the Freedom of Information Act.
“There is clearly strong evidence of mishandling of the requests and strong criticism of the university’s failure to provide data and information. I don’t think the university can just claim that this is a vindication.”
Dr Peiser added that the issue of credibility and transparency in climate science would not go away with this report.