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High Court backs NIWA climate data - experts respond
7 September 2012
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The High Court of New Zealand has backed the science behind NIWA's temperature data, rejecting claims a in legal challenge brought against them.
In 2010 the New Zealand Climate Science Education Trust applied to the high court for a judicial review of the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA)'s actions in publishing temperature records, claiming that adjustments in the data used led to a artificial increase of 1 deg C warming between 1909 and 2008.
Justice Geoffrey Venning , in a High Court ruling released today, rejected the Coalition's challenge of the official NIWA temperature record. The full ruling is available here. The summary states: "The plaintiff does not succeed on any of its challenges to the three decisions of NIWA in issue. The application for judicial review is dismissed and judgment entered for the defendant." Justice Venning also awarded costs to NIWA. In a media statement endorsed by a number of leading NZ climate scientists (available in full here), Prof James Renwick of Victoria University said:
"Scientific analysis and discussion is carried out through the peer-reviewed literature. The basic science of climate change (global warming) has been established for well over a century, and almost all scientists active in climate research agree that human activity is causing the climate to change. For a small group of scientists to appeal to a court of law to find otherwise is bizarre."
"This misguided action of a small group adds confusion to a simple issue - the world is warming and future generations of New Zealanders will have to deal with the consequences"
Read the full statement here.
Contact:
Associate Professor James Renwick
School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences
Victoria University of Wellington
Tel: 04 463 4719
Mobile: 021 178 5550
e-mail: james.renwick@vuw.ac.nz
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