International Conference on Climate Change
Encyclopedia
The International Conference on Climate Change is a conference series sponsored by the Heartland Institute
which aims to bring together global warming skeptics who dissent with the scientific consensus that human-produced greenhouse gas
es, predominantly carbon dioxide
, are causing the Earth's climate to warm. The conference has met six times through July 2011, starting from the first in 2008.
that disputes the positions of the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC). The conference also led to the release of the Manhattan Declaration.
President
Václav Klaus
. Other speakers included Jack Schmitt, Richard Lindzen
, Stephen McIntyre
, Willam Gray, and Tom McClintock
. Unlike the first iteration, which was criticized for taking donations from oil companies, the Heartland Institute stated that the second conference was entirely funded by individual and institutional donations.
Heartland Institute
The Heartland Institute is a libertarian, American public policy think tank based in Chicago, Illinois which advocates free market policies. The Institute is designated as a 501 non-profit by the Internal Revenue Service and advised by a 15 member board of directors, which meets quarterly. As of...
which aims to bring together global warming skeptics who dissent with the scientific consensus that human-produced greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
es, predominantly carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, are causing the Earth's climate to warm. The conference has met six times through July 2011, starting from the first in 2008.
First Conference, March 2008
The 2008 conference was held in New York in March 2008. The conference resulted in the formation of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), which is a group of skeptics led by Fred SingerFred Singer
Siegfried Fred Singer is an Austrian-born American physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia...
that disputes the positions of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
(IPCC). The conference also led to the release of the Manhattan Declaration.
Manhattan Declaration
The Manhattan Declaration calls for the immediate halt to any tax funded attempts to counteract climate change. The declaration asserts "oft-repeated assertions of a supposed 'consensus' among climate experts are false." It was signed by attendees at the 2008 Conference: scientists and researchers in climate and related fields, economists, policymakers, and business leaders. Over seven hundred people attended the conference or signed the declaration.Second Conference, March 2009
The second conference was held in New York March 8–10, 2009. As in 2008, the keynote address of the March, 2009 conference was given by Czech RepublicCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
President
President of the Czech Republic
The President of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic. Unlike his counterparts in Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, the Czech President has a considerable role in political affairs...
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
. Other speakers included Jack Schmitt, Richard Lindzen
Richard Lindzen
Richard Siegmund Lindzen is an American atmospheric physicist and Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lindzen is known for his work in the dynamics of the middle atmosphere, atmospheric tides and ozone photochemistry. He has published more than...
, Stephen McIntyre
Stephen McIntyre
Stephen McIntyre is a Canadian mathematician, former minerals prospector, and semi-retired mining consultant who is best known as the founder and editor of Climate Audit, a blog devoted to the analysis and discussion of climate data...
, Willam Gray, and Tom McClintock
Tom McClintock
Thomas Miller McClintock II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former Assemblyman and state Senator...
. Unlike the first iteration, which was criticized for taking donations from oil companies, the Heartland Institute stated that the second conference was entirely funded by individual and institutional donations.
Conference Presentations
Videos of most presentations at past ICCC conferences are maintained here. In addition to climate change science topics, presentations cover a variety of topics such as environmentalism, economic impacts, communication, green jobs, and politics.See also
- List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming
- Climate change denialClimate change denialClimate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
External links
- ICSC link to Manhattan declaration
- International Conference on Climate Change website at Heartland Institute