Contact Matt Dempsey matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov 202-224-9797

‘CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE’ IN THE IPCC

Inhofe Decries Creation of Obama’s New Global Warming Bureaucracy, Seeks Accountability

Inhofe on Fox Business

Washington, DC--Over the last several weeks, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has suffered several embarrassing disclosures revealing serious flaws in its scientific review process.  Thus far, media reports have uncovered a number of non-peer reviewed studies that the IPCC used to make baseless claims, including that global warming would:

·         Melt Himalayan glaciers by 2035

·         Endanger 40 percent of Amazon rainforest endangered by global warming

·         Melt mountain ice in the Alps, Andes, and Africa.

·         Slash crop production by 50 percent in north Africa by 2020

In light of these revelations, Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, criticized the Obama Administration for apparently ignoring the IPCC’s credibility crisis, and deciding instead to create a new ‘Climate Agency’ within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):

“There is a crisis of confidence in the IPCC, and the Obama Administration is turning a blind eye by creating a new global warming bureaucracy,” Inhofe said.  “At this pivotal time, as the Obama EPA is preparing to enact policies potentially costing trillions of dollars and thousands of jobs, the IPCC’s errors make plain that we need openness, transparency, and accountability in the scientific research financed by U.S. taxpayers. 

“I agree with Robert Watson, former chairman of the IPCC, that someone at the IPCC must take responsibility for these serious errors.  I think that applies to this Administration as well.  In order to bring accountability to this Administration and the IPCC, I plan to address these issues in this year’s budget process. ”