Climate Unit Appoints Replacement Director

The director of the climate science unit at the centre of a row fueled by leaked emails has stepped aside while an inquiry takes place. The new acting director has told eWEEK Europe that the work of the unit will continue.

Professor Phil Jones stood aside as director of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, while an independent review looks into the fall-out from the theft and publication of emails from the unit.

The new acting director, Professor Peter Liss, told eWEEK Europe: “The important thing is for the work of the Unit to carry on in as calm a way as possible.”

A file of emails from the CRU was stolen and released onto the Internet in November, where it was used by climate change deniers, who claim it shows the Unit manipulated data to build a false picture of climate change, interfered with the academic peer-review process, and obstructed Freedom of Information requests.

The university has denied all the accusations, although Professor Jones has apologised for any upset caused by emails on an emotive issue, “written in the heat of the moment”. The university has promised to release all the CRU’s climate data, pointing out that 95 percent is already in the public domain.

An environmental scientist, and chair of the Royal Society’s Global Environmental Research Committee, Professor Liss is well qualified to take up the reins till the inquiry finishes. He has spent the last forty years in the University of East Anglia’s school of environmental sciences, but told eWEEK Europe that he has “not been directly involved” with the data which the Unit is accused of manipulating.

Professor Liss will continue the Unit’s educational work, including its MSc in Climate Change, as well as its involvement in climate change scientific research.

He had no comment on the pending inquiry, except to say its terms of reference would be public, and should be announced soon – and he expects it to be reasonably short.

“We will announce details of the Independent Review, including its terms of reference, timescale and the chair, within days,” said vice-chancellor Professor Edward Acton.

“What is most important is that CRU continues its world-leading research with as little interruption and diversion as possible,” said Professor Jones (left) in a statement. “After a good deal of consideration I have decided that the best way to achieve this is by stepping aside from the Director’s role during the course of the independent review and am grateful to the University for agreeing to this. The Review process will have my full support.”

Climate scientists and others have pointed out the basic science of the greenhouse effect, and the role of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is uncontested, but the atmospheric conditions and climate depend on complex systems.

In 2010, the UK starts a scheme of carbon trading designed to reduce output from large organisations.