There is No Climate Emergency,
a Message to the People

See pdf here

Guus Berkhout, President of Clintel

In the past decades the public has been flooded with fear-mongering stories, telling them that global temperatures will rise to catastrophically high levels.

Climate activists claim that the cause of all this impending doom is the increasing amount of CO2 produced by human activities. The proposed solution is the so-called net-zero emission policy, aimed at lowering human net CO2-emissions to the levels of the pre-industrial era of the late 1700s.

Those activists also claim that people should panic, and that time is running out: “Be aware that it is five minutes to midnight, we must act without delay!” Many thousands of scientists disagree;

Already

1919

are Clintel signatories.

Antonio Guterres, big boss of the UN

Greta Thunberg, teen climate activist

In his numerous ‘last warning’ speeches, Antonio Guterres refers to computer simulations, not the real world. Greta Thunberg testified to the US Congress that there was ‘no science’ behind her ‘panic’ comment.  This info cannot be found in the media.

So why is there such a big difference between the scaring climate activists’ narrative and the optimistic climate scientists’ message, who believe there is no climate emergency? Please, before you continue reading, watch our message: Consensus meet CLINTEL

Not many citizens are aware that all the frightening climate predictions have been generated by computer models. And we know from experience in many other complex areas, how misleading computer models can be.

For example, think of the many wrong predictions by economic models or think of the large mistakes in recent pandemic modeling. The output of computer models depends fully on the assumptions that modelmakers put into them. In the past 50 years, the predictions of climate models about global warming and their dire effects have all been wrong. In the engineering community, they would be qualified as useless.

More specifically, the assumptions in climate modeling are such that predicted temperature changes turn out to be persistently too high. Even worse, extreme weather events – such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, hurricanes etc. – are intentionally used to support the extreme climate predictions. But if we position the current extreme weather events in a historical context, we see that these events are ‘climate business as usual’. See Goklany, 2020.

The conclusion is that models (computer simulations) run ‘too hot’ and that predictions of adverse effects on humans are highly dubious. They project a catastrophic future that is not born out by observations. It is much wiser and safer to rely on measurements. The history of science tells us that significant steps forward are always fueled by observations from new measurement instruments.

Think of the very recent spectacular images of outer space by the new James Webb Space Telescope. The same good news applies to the modern satellites that deliver high-quality measurements around the Earth since 1979. Satellite data shows NO extreme warming, and this is cross-checked by millions of weather balloon measurements.

Therefore, let us make use of the abundant temperature measurements made through the years. Those from the beginning of the industrial period (1850) until the present (2020) we see in Figure 1. Measurements tell us that the temperature in 2020 is 1.1 oC higher than in 1850.

Figure 1: Global temperature curve as currently generally accepted from 1850-2020. If we extend the measurements to 2050, we see that the temperature is 1.6 oC higher than in 1850 (‘X-warming’).

Using Figure 1, let us extrapolate the satellite temperatures to the year 2050 by assuming that the temperature increase of the past 40 years (1980-2020) will carry on without any pausing and cooling. This generous projection results in a 2050-temperature that is 1.6oC higher than in 1850. Now, here is the big question: ‘Is the global warming of 1.6oC a scary result? Does this outcome really tell us that it is ‘five minutes to midnight’?

Let us look at today’s difference in mean temperature between Oslo (one of the big cities near the North Pole) and Singapore (one of the big cities near the Equator), see Figure 2. Measurements show that the difference is as much as 22oC, twenty times bigger than the global warming between 1850 and 2020 and almost 14 times bigger than the so-called ‘scary’ global warming between 1850 and 2050.

Despite of this huge mean temperature difference of 22oC, both cities are very prosperous and the citizens in both cities are enjoying life. So, why do the media tell us that a global warming of 1.6oC or more will lead to a disaster (“the end is near”), while 22oC difference between Oslo and Singapore turns out to be no problem whatsoever?

Figure 2: Global mean temperature from 1850-2050, together with the average temperature of the prospering cities Oslo and Singapore in 2020. Note that the global warming of 1.6 °C is marginal with respect to the difference of 22 °C between the two cities (almost factor 14)

The answer is adaptation! Mankind shows an impressive history, having survived many big changes in its living environment, including big changes in the Earth’s climate. Thanks to our ingenuity, human beings have always found clever solutions to cope with all past challenges, again and again. If you visit Oslo and Singapore, you see an impressive demonstration of human’s capability to adapt to climate differences of 22oC.

There is another interesting observation to make. Gradual global warming is not a serious problem, whether it is caused by CO2 or not. Not mitigation but adaptation is the solution. So, for all of those who would like to think that the present global warming is fully caused by CO2, our conclusion stays unchanged.

Bear in mind that during the cooling period around 1900 and the temperature pause in the sixties (see Figure 1), the CO2-concentration in the atmosphere continued to increase without delay. Hence, the anomalous temperature behavior in these two periods were indisputably caused by mother nature. The same applies for the large climate difference between Oslo and Singapore.

Finally, for those who still believe that CO2-emissions are pollution, we urge you to remember that CO2 is essential for all life on Earth. Additional CO2 in the air has promoted growth in global biomass. It is also very favorable for agriculture, increasing crop yields worldwide.

If also this fact of life isn’t sufficiently convincing, please realize that with the availability of modern nuclear power plants we have ample time to create a global energy system with largely zero emission. But again, the big question is whether zero emission is a sensible goal.

In conclusion, don’t let the terrifying stories of supranational institutions – such as the UN, EU and WEF – scare you. Particularly, climate alarmists must not use extreme weather events to poison our children with fear:

The gradual global warming, which started around 1700 after the end of the Little Ice Age, is a fact and has not caused any serious problem. Our advice is: “Enjoy today’s climate, because stories from the Little Ice Age tell us that a cold climate is full of hardship”.

If we continue to invest in innovation, mankind can easily cope with any effect of further warming. Hence, we must stop the demoralizing back-to-the-past mitigation solutions. We observe that it only leads to decline and poverty.

Instead, we must focus on the power of adaptation, based on science, technology, and education. It will lead us into an era of prosperity for nature and mankind. Please, join our journey!

 

Climate related deaths (floods, droughts, storms, wildfires, extreme temperatures) have declined precipitously because richer and more resilient societies reduce disaster deaths and swamp any potential climate signal.

Thirty years of climate summits have had no discernible effect on the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration. These summits cost an enormous amount of money. Money which can be better spent on adaptation measures.

Guus Berkhout is emeritus-professor of geophysics, member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)

SUPPORTERS WCD

  1. Mario Marquinez Otálora, Argentina
  2. Tim Davidson, Australia
  3. Craig Davis, Australia
  4. David Graham, Australia
  5. Anthony Grigor-Scott, Australia
  6. Paul Hamilton, Australia
  7. Alan Kennett, Australia
  8. Nicholas Loades, Australia
  9. James Longfield, Australia
  10. Nuraini Magnusson, Australia
  11. Matthew Moyes, Australia
  12. Patrick O’Meley, Australia
  13. Tom Polich, Australia
  14. Ian Storey, Australia
  15. Lynette Sunderland, Australia
  16. Ingvar Warnholtz, Australia
  17. Gerhard Ing. Lassnig, Austria
  18. Karin E.J. Kolland, Austria
  19. Franz Promock, Austria
  20. Sebastien Calebout, Belgium
  21. Bart Decroix, Belgium
  22. Jelle D’Helft, Belgium
  23. Mieke Franquet, Belgium
  24. Luc Pintens, Belgium
  25. Aldo Fabre, Brazil
  26. Francisco Mendes Moraes, Brazil
  27. Marcelo Nepomuceno Carius, Brazil
  28. Leif Andersen, Canada
  29. Darren Becker, Canada
  30. Patricia Bowman, Canada
  31. Ivanna Broesky, Canada
  32. Robert Daye, Canada
  33. Wade Doucette, Canada
  34. Craig Horner, Canada
  35. Dwight Jones, Canada
  36. Leslie Keighan, Canada
  37. Kerstin Kelly, Canada
  38. Howard Phelan, Canada
  39. Derwyn Ross, Canada
  40. Florentina Silianu, Canada
  1. Dr Howard Tenenbaum, Canada
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  3. Greg Urton, Canada
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  5. Enrique Casanovas, Chile
  6. René Hurtado, Chile
  7. Jonothan Keir Sims, China
  8. Charles Hope, Cyprus
  9. Radek Kveton, Czech Republic
  10. Daniel Markvart, Czech Republic
  11. Jiri Strachota, Czech Republic
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  13. Hugh Sharman, Denmark
  14. Juhani Anttila, Finland
  15. Ricol Fabien, France
  16. Pascal Frèches, France
  17. Lucien Oulahbib, France
  18. Peter Taylor, France
  19. Noirtault Thierry, France
  20. Achim Benoit, Germany
  21. Christian Bickeböller, Germany
  22. José de la Iglesia, Germany
  23. Nikolai Dick, Germany
  24. Adelbert Herzog, Germany
  25. Christopher Hesse, Germany
  26. Bernhard Kleinhenz, Germany
  27. Lynda Matschke, Germany
  28. Kiana Meier-Friedhoff, Germany
  29. Manfred Patzwahl, Germany
  30. Rafael Sterzer, Germany
  31. Christoph Wallner, Germany
  32. Lutz Weber, Germany
  33. Michael Wegener, Germany
  34. Christian Ziep, Germany
  35. George Zikos, Greece
  36. Bence Gabor Peter, Hungary
  37. Pandu Wisaksono, Indonesia
  38. Roger Eldridge, Ireland
  39. Terry O Sullivan, Ireland
  40. Rabbi Gabriel Cousens MD, Israel
  41. Giorgio Caprile, Italy
  42. Massimiliano Diodati, Italy
  43. Laura Fanfani, Italy
  44. Claudio Antonio Lucchesi, Italy
  1. Maurizio Tambani, Italy
  2. Vincenzo Trainito, Italy
  3. Giancarlo Troiani, Italy
  4. Giorgio Vismara, Italy
  5. Mikhail Boreyko, Kazakhstan
  6. Carlo Besenius, Luxembourg
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  14. Tom Pieterse, Netherlands
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  16. Peter Venema, Netherlands
  17. Duncan Christie, New Zealand
  18. Bruce C Collings, New Zealand
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  20. Nina Jonsson, Norway
  21. Vivi-Ann Sandnes, Norway
  22. Haavard Skjaervik, Norway
  23. Svein Olav Stormark, Norway
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  26. Alain Charles Veloso, Philippines
  27. Pablo de la Fuente de Pablo, Poland
  28. Szymon Głąbski, Poland
  29. Marek Langalis, Poland
  30. Rui Abreu, Portugal
  31. Flavio Barbara, Portugal
  32. Alexander Rodriguez, Singapore
  33. Milos Dian, Slovakia
  34. Milan Gábor, Slovakia
  35. Lore-lei Cerqueira, South Africa
  36. Jan Tredoux, South Africa
  37. Leopoldo Abadia, Spain
  38. Manuel Espejo, Spain
  39. José María Fernandez-Bravo Álvarez, Spain
  40. Luis Garcia, Spain
  41. José Ignacio Herreras Espinosa, Spain
  42. Antonio Lista, Spain
  43. Jorge López Pollo, Spain
  44. Javier Miguel Gonzalez, Spain
  1. Luis Muñoz, Spain
  2. Vicente Nomdedeu, Spain
  3. Gert-jan Mathijs Oepkes, Spain
  4. Ricardo Pascual Iglesias, Spain
  5. Pedro Reche, Spain
  6. Elena Simó, Spain
  7. Inge Bjart Torkildsen, Spain
  8. Carlos Urrutia Nebreda, Spain
  9. Zhamuel Boij, Sweden
  10. Erika Brandt, Sweden
  11. Lars-Olof Ödlund, Sweden
  12. Janos Vrbata, Switzerland
  13. Peter Pop, United Arab Emirates
  14. Gordon Ballantyne, United Kingdom
  15. Keith Brown, United Kingdom
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  20. Ruth Ferguson, United Kingdom
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  23. Kenneth Gorman, United Kingdom
  24. Solomon Green, United Kingdom
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  29. Bryan Johnston, United Kingdom
  30. David Johnstone, United Kingdom
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  32. Howard Koolman, United Kingdom
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  37. David Martin, United Kingdom
  38. Stuart McCarthy, United Kingdom
  39. Gerrard Mccluskey, United Kingdom
  40. Stephen J. Medlock, United Kingdom
  41. Hilary Muggridge, United Kingdom
  42. Robert Nellist, United Kingdom
  43. Andrea Pearson, United Kingdom
  44. Robert Peddar-Adams, United Kingdom
  1. Stephen Peliza, United Kingdom
  2. Vela Rasarathnam, United Kingdom
  3. Yvonne Ross, United Kingdom
  4. Leo Rutherford, United Kingdom
  5. Catherine Shipley, United Kingdom
  6. Angie Stone, United Kingdom
  7. Charles Tannett, United Kingdom
  8. Desmond Thompson, United Kingdom
  9. Neil Wilkes, United Kingdom
  10. Williams, United Kingdom
  11. Nigel Wilson, United Kingdom
  12. Greg Abell, United States of America
  13. Paul Allyn, United States of America
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  15. Michele Baxter, United States of America
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  17. Carl Beels, United States of America
  18. Charles Bellavia, United States of America
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  21. Robert Broe, United States of America
  22. Sue A. Brown, United States of America
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  42. Christine Goodwin, United States of America
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  44. Gio Batta Gori, United States of America
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  13. Ted Laskaris, United States of America
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  34. Miriano “Max” Ravazzolo, United States of America
  35. James Rice, United States of America
  36. Anita Roche, United States of America
  37. Al Rogers, United States of America
  38. Charles G. Sandell DMD, United States of America
  39. Ed Sebesta, United States of America
  40. Marina Shea, United States of America
  41. Roy Shockey, United States of America
  42. Deborah Simpkins, United States of America
  43. Christopher Snyder, United States of America
  44. James Spence MD FACP FCCP, United States of America
  1. Richard F. Storm, United States of America
  2. Tatiana Sugar, United States of America
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  4. Ronald Tarbutton, United States of America
  5. Don Thompson, United States of America
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  13. Stacy Wick, United States of America
  14. James Colin Wright, United States of America