Congressional Republicans called on the Obama administration on Wednesday to suspend all efforts to combat climate change until the controversy surrounding e-mails casting doubt on global warming. The lawmakers have requested EPA to halt the plans to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, along with plans to limit emissions from vehicles, power plants and other sources.
Apparently more than 1,000 e-mails were obtained and released by a computer hacker involving scientists from at the University of East Anglia ’s Climatic Research Unit in Britain , one of the few institutions across the globe to collect the historical temperature data relied on by climate researchers. In some e-mails, a prominent climate scientist urges colleagues to destroy records rather than release them under public disclosure laws. In others, scientists appear to discuss how to discredit research they disagree with.
Skeptics claim that global temperatures may be warming naturally, not due to human activity. They say that the e-mails suggest that scientists may have manipulated evidence to bolster their claims. However, the scientists dispute that and say that their words have been taken out of context.
The controversy comes just days before Copenhagen summit next week at which President Obama and other world leaders will discuss an international climate-change treaty.