Queen Mary scientists back climate change evidence

In an open letter issued by the UK's Met Office, over 1700 professional scientists, from students to senior professors, expressed their "utmost confidence" in the evidence for global climate change and the "scientific basis for concluding that it is due primarily to human activities".

In the week that political leaders are meeting in Copenhagen to debate action on carbon emissions, the scientists from Queen Mary's Department of Geography, and School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, are using the opportunity to highlight the importance of rigorous evidence in deciding our future.

The statement reads: "[the evidence] comes from decades of painstaking and meticulous research, by many thousands of scientists across the world who adhere to the highest levels of professional integrity. That research has been subject to peer review and publication, providing traceability of the evidence and support for the scientific method."

It concludes that: "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal" and that "most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic [man-made] greenhouse gas concentrations".

Queen Mary itself is committed to working towards an environmentally-friendly and sustainable campus with energy-efficient buildings. The Estates Strategy running to 2015 includes requirements to reduce the College’s carbon footprint and demand on energy sources.