Conspiracy theory is fatally flawed

The Global warming conspiracy theory is an interesting idea, but both the documentary and J Brittain's letter are filled with factual flaws.

It is not true that most scientists refute that CO2 emissions cause global warming. Neither is it true that official data shows that CO2 emissions have fallen since 1997 - in fact levels have remained largely static during that time. Since 1900, CO2 global emissions have increased ten fold.

No serious scientist in the world refutes global warming. MIT Oceanography Professor Carl Wunsch, who appeared in Channel 4's film, has responded to his mis-quotation in the film by saying on his website: "I believe that climate change is real, a major threat, and almost surely has a major human-induced component".

In fact the evidence for Global Warming comes from a whole series of authorative organisations including The UN Panel on Climate Change (made up of the world's top environmental scientists), NASA, UEA Climatic Research Unit, the Meterological Office, Oxford University, and MIT.

There are several natural causes of climate change. In the long term sunspots may (possibly) have some effect, as well as changes in the Earth's orbit. In the short term (one or two years) volcanic activity and El Nino also play a part.

But to explain the evidence that has been gathered, the greenhouse effect must also be taken into account.

Human activity has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which has upset the equilibrium of the natural greenhouse effect. This activity is contributing to the global warming that we are experiencing.

That is the balance of opinion today among the international scientific community. These are people who have no direct influence over UK or EU tax policy and who work scientifically from evidence-based research. Surely their evidence and opinion carries more weight than the views of biased, sensationalist conspiracy theorists.

Lars Nielsen Stourbridge