LONDON — Ahead of the Copenhagen conference on climate change (which starts Monday), those who have argued that there is no conclusive proof that climate change is man-made were encouraged by the recent leak of e-mails from the archives of the University of East Anglia. The exchanges suggested that some scientists were manipulating data to support their theories about global warming.
It is unfortunate that acrimony among scientists has sometimes prevented the necessary painstaking review of scientific evidence and opinion.
This sort of debate has also been inhibited by the way in which libel laws, especially in Britain, are used to mute or prevent publication of scientific criticism of papers produced by other scientists. Some companies have used these legal openings to protect their product claims from scientific challenge of quoted data and tests used to back up the claims. Much harm can be done if tests are not rigorous and subjected to peer review.