A highly respected climate change scientist has taken aim at fellow members of the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change who engage in political advocacy. Andrew Weaver, a professor at the University of Victoria, is concerned that some panel members have become involved in advocating particular climate change policies and actions rather than serving simply as science advisers. He suggests that those who do so should resign, and that the Panel needs to re-organize to remove the taint of such activity. He suggests that the culprits take their leave of the Panel.

He is right. The panel has over 100 members who are asked to investigate and work on climate change as independent scientists. The work of the Panel has been excellent. Unfortunately that excellence has been compromised in part because some members and associates have become active in advocating for particular policies, including acting as paid consultants to those with an interest in the climate change issue. This creates at least the appearance of using their association with the Panel to further their own interests, which is a sure fire way to discredit the Panel’s work.

Some may think the target here are those who advocate on behalf of the public interest. Oh that this were the case. In an earlier posting I reported on a similar issue related to the activities of one of the panel members from BC. In that case an academic from my own university who has been associated with the work of the Panel took work as a consultant to the Independent (Private) Power Producers association of BC, an industry lobby group. In his report he attacked and attempted to discredit another energy expert who is a recognized professional and author of public interest reports and testimony before the BC Utilities Commission. The expert’s sin was to challenge the positions of the private power producers, who were and are lining up for special deals from the government all the while using the climate change issue to justify highly questionable contracts to supply expensive and largely useless power to BC Hydro. The consultant’s industry sponsored attack came in a widely publicized report paid for by the association. The attack was both unfair and in some aspects just plain wrong. However, it got widespread coverage and was given credibility in part through the author’s association with the work of the UN Panel. Needless to say, it was very damaging to the victim’s reputation and credibility. The attack was couched in very personal terms, notwithstanding the fact that the subject of the attack is one of the most honest, reputable and thorough experts in the field.

One cannot help but think that Andrew Weaver in part had this case in mind when he went public with his concerns.

He is right. This sort of thing must stop. Taking the side of an industry lobby group is about the most unappetizing form of political advocacy possible. Doing so while having acted as a supposed independent adviser to the UN Panel is especially egregious. Those who participate in bodies such as the International Panel on Climate Change must be free of the taint of political activity that furthers private interests. The Independent Power Producers should know better and so should those who do their dirty work, but clearly they do not. The UN should not tolerate this kind of thing from the people who work on its independent panels.

As a matter of interest the same private power producers that bought and paid for this disreputable undertaking in order to undermine and silence an informed and carefully researched critic are apparently once again taking after one of their prominent critics. The highly respected and independent minded journalist Rafe Mair reports that a group associated with the private power interests are circulating a poisonous email about him, twisting something he wrote in December in the Tyee that was critical of them. (see posting at http://www.greenenergybc.ca/media_280110.html). Discrediting critics is clearly part of their way of operating. Mair reports that the circulated email states:

“Rafe Mair’s new found love of nuclear energy is quite suspect. Rafe is ostensibly against run of river hydro because of what he claims to be high cost of production, among other things (which is untrue, as run of river production costs less than what it costs BC Hydro to produce new power).”

These are the words of the private power producers. Note the claim that he “loves” nuclear energy, the careful distortion of facts and the implication that he makes “untrue” claims. And all intended to personally discredit this honourable man.

Rafe’s response is as follows:

“I do not, repeat not, say we should adopt a Nuclear power program in BC, only that we stand back and look at Nuclear with a jaundiced eye but still look. We are, under the Campbell Liberals, bound and determined to destroy our rivers. Campbell, nose growing all the time, says we need the power and that’s why our rivers must be sacrificed. His nose stretches because we do not need the power and even if we did, private river projects won’t help because they only produce power when BC Hydro doesn’t need it. But if there’s a valid alternative, shouldn’t we look at it?

There are, as I see it, these concerns to be dealt with, any one of which would negate the arguments for Nuclear energy.

1. Is it, under 2009 conditions and knowledge, safe? Even if it’s safe
under everyday circumstances could terrorists use it to create an atom
bomb like disaster?

2. How do we dispose of the waste? It’s been this problem that has for
many people made the issue a non starter.

3. Is it cost effective? We know that they haven’t been but are the
numbers better now?

4. Is it really green, considering what it takes to build and maintain a
facility?

We would be damned fools to rush into a pro nuclear policy but also damned fools not to consider it.”

Right minded people should protest this industry group’s tactics to distort and silence critics. One hopes that people across the province will make their disgust about these kind of tactics known in no uncertain terms. These private companies are being granted valuable public land and water licenses with which they will make big returns producing next to worthless power. If they don’t understand that the gift of these licenses requires that they show some basic social responsibility, it is time for BC residents to make this clear to them. They survive and prosper with implicit consent of the people through an unwritten social contract. If they can’t act responsibly and ethically, the contract should be terminated. The people have the power to make that happen.