Complaint to Ofcom[Nt1] Regarding “The Great Global Warming Swindle” Lead Authors: Nathan Rive, Dr Brian Jackson, Dave Rado Other Contributing Authors: Dr Robert Marsh (on oceanography and IPCC Working Group I) Professor Alistair Woodward (on epidemiology/entomology and IPCC Working Group II) Dr Jonathan Kohler (on alternative energy and development economics) Monica Samec (on alternative energy and development economics) Dr Julie Doyle (on the programme’s criticisms of the media) and see also “Acknowledgements” section Peer Reviewers: On the climate science and the overall complaint Professor John Shepherd, Dr William Connolley, Dr Robert Marsh On IPCC Working Group I Dr Bert Bolin On IPCC Working Group II and epidemiology/entomology Professor James McCarthy, Professor Tony McMichael On epidemiology/entomology Professor Chris Curtis On alternative energy and development economics Dr Jim Watson On the programme’s criticisms of the media Dr Joe Smith On the environmental movement Dr Julie Doyle On the credentials, funding and links to lobby groups of the contributors to the Channel 4 programme Cindy Baxter On the background of the film maker Andy Rowell Complaint to Ofcom Regarding “The Great Global Warming Swindle” i Table of Contents 1. Complaint Summary ............................................................................................................1 1.1 Overview .....................................................................................................................1 1.2 This Complaint is Not an Attack on Free Speech ..................................................2 1.3 Contributors and Peer Reviewers of this Complaint.............................................2 1.4 Structure of this Complaint.......................................................................................3 1.5 Relevant Clauses in Ofcom’s Penalty Guidelines..................................................3 1.6 Categories of Serious Individual Breaches .............................................................3 1.7 Groups of Breaches in which Multiple Interviewee and Narrator Statements, Taken Together, Constitute a Highly Misleading Narrative ..........6 1.8 Grouping of Breaches which, Considered Individually, May be “Minor” but which, when Considered as a Group, are Serious Breaches..........................9 1.9 Total Number of Serious Breaches.........................................................................11 1.10 There was no “Series of Programmes” ..................................................................11 1.11 Failure to Disclose the Personal Interests of the Producer .................................12 1.12 Full Disclosure ..........................................................................................................12 1.13 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................12 2. Complete Transcript and Rebuttal...................................................................................13 2.1 Programme Introduction.........................................................................................13 2.2 Palaeoclimatic Temperature Reconstructions of the Past...................................27 2.3 Twentieth Century Cooling ....................................................................................33 2.4 Troposphere “Cooling”............................................................................................41 2.5 Ice Core Data .............................................................................................................44 2.6 “Humans Don’t Produce Much Carbon Dioxide”...............................................47 2.7 It’s the Sun, Stupid! ..................................................................................................50 2.8 Greenhouse Effect Conspiracy Theory..................................................................61 2.9 “Climate Models are Inaccurate”............................................................................74 2.10 “The Ice is Not Melting” ..........................................................................................81 2.11 Conspiracy Theory About Media Coverage.........................................................87 2.12 Conspiracy Theory About the IPCC ......................................................................89 2.13 Conspiracy Theory About Research Funding ......................................................97 2.14 Conspiracy Theory About Kyoto and the Third World....................................101 Appendix A: Complaint Category Analysis..........................................................................116 A.1 Categories of Serious Individual Breaches of the Codes ..................................116 A.2 Groups of Breaches in which Multiple Interviewee and Narrator Statements, Taken Together, Constitute a Highly Misleading Narrative ......118 A.3 Categories of Breach in which, Considered Individually, the Breach May be “Minor” but which, when Considered as a Group, are Serious Breaches ...................................................................................................................121 A.4 Total Number of Serious Breaches Reported in this Complaint......................122 Appendix B: Background to the Film Maker, Martin Durkin ...........................................123 B.1 The Reasons for Including this Section ...............................................................123 Table of Contents, Page i of iii Last updated: 11/06/2007 Complaint to Ofcom Regarding “The Great Global Warming Swindle” ii B.2 Previous Films Made by Durkin for Channel 4...................................................123 B.3 Durkin’s Links with the LM Group.....................................................................125 Appendix C: Backgrounds of the Contributors to the Programme...................................126 C.1 Overview .................................................................................................................126 C.2 Nigel Lawson, Lord Lawson of Blaby .................................................................130 C.3 James Shikwati........................................................................................................130 C.4 Paul Driessen...........................................................................................................131 C.5 Patrick Moore..........................................................................................................132 C.6 Nigel Calder ............................................................................................................132 C.7 Piers Corbyn............................................................................................................133 C.8 Dr Philip Stott..........................................................................................................133 C.9 Dr Tim Ball ..............................................................................................................134 C.10 Dr Frederick Singer ................................................................................................135 C.11 Professor Patrick Michaels ....................................................................................136 C.12 Dr Willie Soon.........................................................................................................138 C.13 Dr Nir Shaviv ..........................................................................................................139 C.14 Dr Eigil Friis-Christensen......................................................................................139 C.15 Professor Syun-ichi Akasofu.................................................................................140 C.16 Professor Ian Clark.................................................................................................140 C.17 Professor Richard Lindzen....................................................................................141 C.18 Professor Paul Reiter..............................................................................................142 C.19 Professor John Christy and Dr Roy Spencer.......................................................143 C.20 Professor Carl Wunsch ..........................................................................................144 Appendix D: Corporate-funded Organisations Linked to Contributors to the Programme..........................................................................................................................145 Appendix E: Media Coverage Afforded to the Contributors to the Channel 4 Programme..........................................................................................................................158 E.1 Press Articles About Climate Change During the Past 12 Months Featuring Each Contributor to the Channel 4 Programme................................158 E.2 Examples of Sympathetic Press Coverage of Contributors to the Channel 4 Programme ..............................................................................................................159 Appendix F: Some Factors to Consider when Setting the Penalty....................................161 F.1 General Criteria.......................................................................................................161 F.2 Specific Criteria which May be Relevant Depending on the Contravention .........................................................................................................161