The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does not appear to consider global warming a security threat, Czech President Vaclav Klaus reported at The Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC-7).
Klaus, who spoke at ICCC-7 after participating in talks with NATO leaders May 20-21 in Chicago, told ICCC-7 attendees, “I am glad to tell you that we did not discuss the global warming. It seems that NATO does not consider global warming to be a security threat.”
Klaus’ observations deflated global warming alarmists who often attempt to justify expensive and far-reaching action on global warming by linking it to alleged national security threats.
Europeans Not Concerned
On a similar topic, Klaus observed European interest and concern about global warming is waning.
“On Friday evening I attended a music festival in Prague, and during the break I mentioned to a group of people that I [am going] to Chicago, among other things to speak at this conference. Their reaction was, ‘Global warming? Isn’t it already over? Does anybody care about it?’ That is how they see it. Maybe it is a European perspective.”
Klaus said it is nevertheless very important for The Heartland Institute and its allies to keep reporting the truth that global warming is not a crisis. Without constant reporting of that fact, Klaus said, alarmists will again misrepresent science and succeed in further eroding human liberty.
Over 50 Experts Spoke
President Klaus was one of more than 50 experts speaking at ICCC-7. Before the conference, The Heartland Institute extended invitations to more than 50 warmists, including dozens of Lead Authors and Coordinating Lead Authors for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to attend the conference and engage skeptics in cooperative discussion and debate. None of the warmists agreed to attend the conference and debate the underlying science.
As a result, the conference served as a platform for experts from private and public research organizations and prominent universities to explain why humans are not creating a global warming or climate change crisis.
Internal Debate Encouraged
In sharp contrast to alarmist conferences and publications, ICCC-7 encouraged sharp debate on various global warming topics. Particularly noteworthy was an exchange between atmospheric scientist Bill Gray and solar expert Sebastian Luning during a question and answer session at the end of Luning’s May 23 keynote presentation.
Luning documented during his presentation how variations in solar output track very closely with global temperatures. Luning made the case that solar variability continues to function as the primary driver of global temperatures.
Gray, a hurricane expert who for decades has studied ocean cycles and their effects on global climate, took advantage of the question and answer session to argue ocean cycles are playing a greater role in recent temperature fluctuations than solar variability.
The debate lasted for several minutes with neither Luning nor Gray appearing to win the other over to his point of view. Although the debate was quite sharp, it remained professional and constructive.
Video Available OnlineThe Heartland Institute filmed all of the sessions and is making video of the conference available online at the Heartland Institute Web site. Prominent speakers include Lord Christopher Monckton, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, European Union Member of Parliament Roger Helmer, and dozens of global warming scientists and economists.
James M. Taylor ([email protected]) is managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
Internet Info:
International Conferences on Climate Change, The Heartland Institute, http://climateconferences.heartland.org/
