Evidence for global warming under scrutiny at London event

A Royal Society of Chemistry seminar being staged in central London next week will probe the issue global warming at a time when interest in the concept is acuter than ever, following disasters during the last year.

Involving a panel of respected names from the field of climate change and earth sciences, the 19 October event will be chaired by writer and broadcaster Vivienne Parry, and run by the Royal Society of Chemistry's Science and Technology Department.

Seminar organiser Dr Rachel Brazil said today: "The line-up of speakers we have been able to bring together for this represents one of the most concentrated scientific focuses on the question of global warming for some time."

Speakers who agreed to contribute are Professor Keith Briffa of the Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia; Professor John Mitchell, Chief Scientist, MetOffice and Visiting Professor, University of Reading; Professor Colin Prentice Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol and Andy Rowell journalist and author whose work includes The Next Gulf , to be published in November this year.

Although a majority of scientist are in agreement on the interpretation of the evidence, a vocal minority does question both the evidence and predictive modelling of climate change. In light of the highly charged political debate surrounding the issue, an understanding of the basic scientific principles can only enlighten those entrusted to do something about it.

"This seminar will attempt to shed some light on the science of climate change and equip policy makers with a basic understanding of the evidence and implications. The seminar will cover the evidence for global warming and the extent to which warming is attributable to human activity; the basic methods, assumptions and results of climate modelling, and particularly those agreed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change," said Dr Brazil.

The seminar will be at the Kohn Centre, Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, SW1 on Wednesday 19 October, starting at 5.00pm.