2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #34

Posted on 26 August 2023 by John Hartz

Story of the Week

Scientific journal retracts article that claimed no evidence of climate crisis

Publisher Springer Nature says 2022 article ‘not supported by available evidence’ as editors launch investigation

One of the world’s biggest scientific publishers has retracted a journal article that claimed to have found no evidence of a climate crisis.

Springer Nature said it had retracted the article, by four Italian physicists, after an internal investigation found the conclusions were “not supported by available evidence or data provided by the authors”.

Climate sceptic groups widely publicised the article, which appeared in the European Physical Journal Plus in January 2022 – a journal not known for publishing climate change science.

Nine months later the article was reported uncritically in a page one story in the Australian newspaper and promoted in two segments on Sky News Australia – a channel that has been described as a global hub for climate science misinformation. The segments were viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube. 

The article claimed to have analysed data to find no trend in rainfall extremes, floods, droughts and food productivity.

“In conclusion on the basis of observational data, the climate crisis that, according to many sources, we are experiencing today, is not evident yet,” the article said.

Several climate scientists told the Guardian and later the news agency AFP that the article had misrepresented some scientific articles, was “selective and biased” and had “cherrypicked” information. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on The Guardian website.

Scientific journal retracts article that claimed no evidence of climate crisis Publisher Springer Nature says 2022 article ‘not supported by available evidence’ as editors launch investigation by Graham Readfearn, Environment, The Guardian, Aug 25, 2023

Articles posted on Facebook

Sunday, Aug 20, 2023

• New study warns against risks of ‘time-traveling pathogens’ by Ava Loomar, World, CNN, Aug 18, 2023
• Analysis of EU and US shows livestock farmers receive about 1,000 times more public funding than plant-based and cultivated meat Analysis of EU and US shows livestock farmers receive about 1,000 times more public funding than plant-based and cultivated meat by Damian Carrington, Environment, The Guardian, Aug 18, 2023
• Boomers and Gen Z are both worried about extreme weather, but one is less concerned with climate change In a new Fast Company-Harris Poll, growing concerns about atypical weather spanned generations, while older groups appeared less likely to make the climate connection. by Sarah Bregel, Fast Company, Aug 9, 2023
• Unusual Pacific Storms Like Hurricane Hilary Could be a Warning for the Future A lack of data from the Eastern Pacific Ocean makes it hard to project whether global warming will increase tropical storm risks in Southern California. by Bob Berwyn, Science, Inside Climate News, Aug 19, 2023

Monday, Aug 21, 2023

• Mountain treelines are rising due to climate crisis, study finds Remote sensing technology shows 70% of tree coverage moved uphill between 2000 and 2010 by Annalise Murray, Environment, The Guardian, Aug 19, 2023
• In Maui and across America, climate change and extreme weather are hurting housing affordability by Anna Bahney, CNN, Aug 21, 2023
• New Jersey requires climate change education. A year in, here’s how it’s going by Seyma Bayram, Climate, NPR News, Aug 20, 2023

Tuesday, Aug 22, 2023

• Tropical roundup: The latest on Hilary, Emily, Franklin, Gert, and a Texas-Mexico threat The remnants of Hurricane Hilary sweep toward western Canada after damaging floods and record rains, while the Atlantic heats up. by Bob Henson, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Aug 21, 2023
• For Florida’s Ailing Corals, No Relief From the Heat Scientists now fear a global bleaching event, with Florida leading the way. by Amy Green, Science, Inside Climate News, Aug 21, 2023
• At a glance – How substances in trace amounts can cause large effects by John Mason & Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Aug 22, 2023
• Quebec Wildfire Conditions Made 2-7x More Likely by Climate Change, Study Shows by Mitchell Beer, The Energy Mix, Aug 22, 2023 

Wednesday, Aug 23, 2023

• Extreme August Arrives With a Warning: Expect More A mix of devastating wildfires, tropical storms, mudslides and heat waves foreshadows a future of intensified extremes as the world warms. by Somini Sengupta, Climate, New York Times, Aug 22, 2023
• The argument that we should just adapt to climate change is so misguided Arguing that human beings can simply adapt to climate change suggests the climate will stop changing. Opinion by Kate Marvel, MSNBC, Aug 21, 2023
• Why seek self-realisation? In the face of climate crisis it might seem myopic but philosophers from Spinoza to Næss argue it is the only way forward by Helen De Cruz, Aeon Magazine, Aug 22, 2023
• Global warming could push tropical forest leaves past a ‘critical temperature’ by Orla Dwyer, Nature, Carbon Brief, Aug 23, 2023

Thursday, Aug 24, 2023

• This songbird’s genes may show how climate change has sped up evolution by Kate Selig, Climate, Washington Post, Aug 23, 2023
• Worried about our failure to stop climate change? There’s a name for it, Opinion by Joshua Pedersen, San Francisco Chronicle, Aug 23, 2023
• Campaigners Sued an Oil Major For Climate Deception. Now the Company Is Preparing to Sue Them Back. Eni’s legal threat reflects a growing trend of petro-firms using dubious lawsuits to quash activism, intimidate critics, and dodge accountability. by Emily Sanders, DeSmog, Aug 23, 2023
• Penguin Chicks Are Dying Off as Antarctic Sea Ice Disappears Record-low sea ice caused Emperor Penguin chicks to die across Antarctica last year. This year could be just as bad by Meghan Bartels, Environment, Scientific American, Aug 24, 2023

Friday, Aug 25, 2023

• Soy, beef and gold gangsters: Why Bolivia and Venezuela won’t protect the Amazon Bolivia wants to chop down trees to grow soy, beef and palm oil while Venezuela is unwilling or unable to restrain illegal gold mining by Thomas Graham, Climate Home News, Aug 24, 2023
• El Niño means an even floodier future is on the coastal horizon by Dr. William Sweet, Dr. Greg Dusek, Dr. John Callahan, Analise Keeney & Karen Kavanaugh, ENSO Blog, NOAA’s Climate.Gov, Aug 22, 2023
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• Republican debate: What they said(and didn’t say) about climate One of the most illuminating moments in the Republican debate came 20 minutes in. The reaction to it was swift and – among some young people and scientists – angry by Tom Geohegan, US & Canada, BBC News, Aug 24, 2023

Saturday Aug 26, 2023

• Scientific journal retracts article that claimed no evidence of climate crisis Publisher Springer Nature says 2022 article ‘not supported by available evidence’ as editors launch investigation by Graham Readfearn, Environment, The Guardian, Aug 25, 2023
• Carbon Offsets to Reduce Deforestation Are Significantly Overestimating Their Impact, a New Study Finds A study in six countries across three continents finds that most carbon offsets aimed at a24, 2023voiding deforestation are failing to keep forests standing or cut atmospheric greenhouse gases. by Keerti Gopal, Politics & Policy, Inside Climate News, Aug 24, 2023
• The 77 places where extreme heat will break or tie records through Monday by Renee Rigdon& Mary Gilbert, US, CNN, Aug 25, 2023
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #34 2023 by Doug Bostrom & Mark Kodack, Skeptical Science, Aug 24, 2023