date: Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:50:00 +0100 from: Gerald Ganssen subject: Re: EGU 2008 and CL division-related topics to: Phil Jones Hi Phil, thanks for giving your opinion w.r.t. sponsoring. We take this issue very serious and certainly also the concerns of people from CL and other divisions, and our medallists' opinion in this even more. W.r.t sponsoring of ExxonMobil and AGU: http://www.agu.org/givingtoagu/Donor_List.pdf please look at our council agreed sponsorhip principles under http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/info/egu_statement_on_sponsorship_of_the_union.html nothing has been decided yet, w.r.t. approaching potential sponsors with kind regards Gerald Phil Jones wrote: > > Gerrit et al, > Here are a few quick thoughts on Andrea's email. > > 1. Tourism and Climate Change - try Bas Amelung at the University of > Maastricht. > b.amelung@icis.unimaas.nl. David Viner (who has now left CRU) worked with > him on this subject. If Bas can't help he should know who might. > > 5. On a Climate Change conference there are lots of climate meetings - > seems > as though you could go to one almost every week. So, it would be > difficult to > get all the good people. The IPCC award money is likely to be used for > new alternative technologies in developing countries. By 2009 we will know > if there will be another IPCC (AR5) - decision on that either next > spring or > later in the autumn. If you can get Al Gore - then many more would come. > > 4. A debate on EXXON support for the EGU would be useful next April in > Vienna. > I agree on your stance re EXXON. It would be wrong. Maybe CL needs to > tell the rest of EGU that EXXON needs to show the world that they mean > what they have said recently - i.e. they aren't supporting the > skeptics. EXXON > should say they broadly support the IPCC. The European part may be > happy with this, but need to know this is what the HQ in Houston would > go along > with also. September is OK - provided it's in the first half. Our > University terms > start in the last week. Second or third week the best. > > I doubt AGU would accept any EXXON money. > > I could bring along some correspondence re > > - threats to staff at ENV/UEA when papers come out (just emails so far) > - research malpractice allegations against some climate people in the > US and Europe. > - EXXON have clearly funded skeptics in the US in the past. > > I reckon only a few in the climate field know the full extent of what is > going on behind the scenes in climate science. The Nobel Peace prize > will certainly help, but some skeptics are redoubling their efforts. > I wouldn't want to see a split within EGU. > > Cheers > Phil > > > > At 08:39 18/10/2007, you wrote: >> Dear collegues, >> >> The programme for the climate division at the EGU 2008 is close to ready. >> http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2008/ then click to programme, then >> to CL. >> Until now, there are about 55 CL sessions. If there is something >> missing (text, co-conveners, etc.), either modify it or send an email >> to Andrea.Bleyer@awi.de , and we will >> insert it. >> >> Several issues: >> >> 1. CL topics >> >> I thought it might be a good idea to give the CL division with 55 >> proposals a structure in order to avoid overlaps and to detect missing >> topics. >> Besides the president (myself), the vice-president (Denis-Didier >> Rousseau: >> Denis.Rousseau@lmd.ens.fr >> ), >> and the secretaries, there shall be some persons overlooking each group >> of sessions. Is it possible to find these persons? I suggest about 2-3 >> persons for each group. >> . >> The preliminary list of the sessions is enclosed. Please feel free to >> come up with suggestions. >> >> I want to implement one additional session about “climate change and >> tourism” dealing with the challenges of sea level rise, melting ice, >> and seasonal climate prediction. Until now, I have not been able to >> find one. May be you have ideas or know persons. >> 2. Poster awards >> >> For our division, we need a person who feels responsible for the >> young scientist poster award. Sonia Seneviratne ( >> sonia.seneviratne@env.ethz.ch ) >> did it this year and she would be willing to help. My suggestion is >> that each session will choose the best poster by convener and >> co-convener. The co-/convener cannot choose a poster on which he/she >> is co-author. This poster will be sent to us as pdf, we will create a >> web page with these posters, and a committee of 3-4 persons will >> select the best ones. For each finally selected poster, a citation of >> one about sentence will be presented by the committee. >> >> 3. Web site for CL >> >> For the division, it would be nice to have a web site with important >> meetings, news etc. Arne Richter has already bought EGU.eu, but it >> would take a while. If we want, we can use one from our institutes in >> between and transfer the file to the EGU at a later stage. >> >> 4. Sponsoring of the EGU by oil companies >> >> There is a discussion about sponsoring of the EGU by oil companies, >> especially Exxon. For me and for some others, this would be very >> problematic. There is no financial pressure to do so, and there is a >> risk to lose independence. Furthermore, the politics of >> disinformation about climate change of these companies undermine the >> scientific progress and work we are actually doing. There are more >> arguments, and the Nobel Peace Price shows that many people recognise >> the implications of climate change. There may be ways to influence >> the companies’ politics, but it is difficult to trust new ways >> immediately. Something like that is probably better working on a >> specific project. For most of the climate community, the oil >> companies are a critical point. I was astonished to recognise how >> little acceptance the EGU council gave to these arguments, except ERE >> and OS (AS and BG left earlier). Therefore, we may think about new >> structures without the “oil fraction”. My suggestion is to fathom >> several ways, and we definitely need more discussions also at the EGU >> 2008. I think a split of the EGU would not be the right direction, >> different opinions shall be spoken out and debated. One way of >> discussion could be via the Great Debates at the EGU. I think an >> interesting debate would be: “Shall the EGU be sponsored by oil >> companies? – Pros and Cons”. >> >> I think in such a debate different views in geosciences will come up. >> This is probably related to these fields of geosciences working in >> close collaboration with oil companies, and those being more related >> to the climate change debate and IPCC work. For the contras I would >> invite CL scientists who are aware of the dark side of EXXON et al. >> due to the problems some of our colleagues faced, like previous >> medallists and conveners. Also an expert in ethical issues may help >> in such a debate. I think this question would have enough fire to be >> an interesting and important event. If you agree, I will send this >> suggestion to the other divisions (ERE already showed interest.). >> >> 5. Conference 2009 “Climate change” >> >> One idea would be to make a topical conference about “Climate >> Change”. Please find enclosed a first draft for a proposal. A nice >> framework for such a conference in a framework would be 1000-2000 >> people, possibly in Nice in September 2009? (The regular big EGU >> meeting in April 2009 is in Vienna again.) >> >> The organisation could be done via copernicus with their cosis >> system, as a topical conference possibly also under the umbrella of >> CLIVAR-PAGES, IGBP, WCRP, and other European organisations like EMS. >> An interesting partner would be IPCC, both, they have now enough >> money, and we get Al Gore as a speaker for free ;) >> >> For a rough planning, I would like to ask you to give me some >> feedback. Would you be interested? If yes, would you offer a session? >> When would be the appropriate time (around Sept. 2009)? Also to avoid >> overlap! >> >> 6. PAGES Newsletter >> >> We are pretty interested in the approach combining Earth System >> Models and data. Such an approach could include a mechanistic >> understanding of proxies that record past climate and environmental >> conditions, or statistical methods. For this data-model topic >> Thorsten Kiefer from the PAGES office and me will make a PAGES >> newsletter for 2008. >> http://www.pages.unibe.ch/cgi-bin/WebObjects/products.woa/wa/type?id=2 >> There is room for short contributions about new ideas/concepts as >> well as examples and applications. Please tell me if you are >> interested in contributions, e.g. through examples and/or new concepts. >> >> Kind regards >> Gerrit >> >> >> > Prof. Phil Jones > Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090 > School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784 > University of East Anglia > Norwich Email p.jones@uea.ac.uk > NR4 7TJ > UK > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > -- Dr. Gerald Ganssen Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences Vrije Universiteit de Boelelaan 1085 1081HV Amsterdam The Netherlands tel. +31205987369 President European Geosciences Union, http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/EGU.html Co-Editor-in-Chief Climate of the Past please visit the website of this EGU open access journal www.climate-of-the-past.net