Ook Franse Academie van Wetenschappen buigt zich over klimaat

PARIS—The French Academy of Sciences finally produced a statement after a full day of debate on climate change Monday that had been shrouded in secrecy.

The debate followed a rumpus triggered by former research minister Claude Allègre and a handful of other scientists, who have contested the causes of climate change. The debate was ordered by Education and Research Minister Valérie Pécresse in April, after more than 600 scientists signed a petition alleging "denigration" by Allègre in his book L'imposure climatique (The Climate Fraud) and asking her to disavow it.

The statement appears to be in response to an outburst at the weekend from the French daily Le Monde.

In a front-page editorial, the paper lambasted a total blackout on the debate, the identity of the participants and their submissions. "What is it (that the Academy is) afraid of," it asked. The secrecy "arouses suspicion."

According to the statement, participants in the debate concluded that links between solar radiation variations and the earth's orbit are not contested, but that the jury is still out on the importance of the impact of solar activity cycles.

Participants agreed, the statement said, there was a consensus on the direct impact of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by human activity, but that their indirect effects are still controversial. One of the ways towards better understanding of climate patterns is the physiochemistry of clouds, they agreed.

The reason that publicizing the details of the meeting was important, said Le Monde, was that pirated e-mails and errors in the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) already aroused "considerable mistrust." But the reaction in the Anglo Saxon world, particularly from scientific institutions, was immediate, the newspaper noted. Five independent inquiries were conducted, none of which contested the IPCC's main conclusions. "Climatologists were submitted to critical and rigorous questioning (sic!) it would be normal for their detractors to have the same treatment," it added.

Overall, I think that approach by the Academie des sciences is a positive development, even if it appears to be somewhat timid and lacks transparency. For a start, this is a serious attempt to foster a genuine scientific debate between opposing scientists - and that is really new in France. What is more, the Academy is trying to stand clear of supporting the claims and accusations that numerous climate scientists have made against climate sceptics. We have to wait for the full report to be issued in October to know whether or not it will commission a review of the state of science for the French public who have become less certain and more doubtful over the last couple of years. I am not convinced it will go that far. Nevertheless, I hope that it won't shut down what looks to me like the beginnings of a real scientific debate.