disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia : Eighth report of session 2009-10, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

EUROPEAN SCHOOl OF CLiMATOlOGY AND NATURAL HAZARDS The training of scientific and technical personnel and the development of highly qualified scientists are, and have always been, among the important concerns of the European Commission. Advanced training is an important requirement for the implementation of a common EU policy in science and technology. The European School of Climatology and Natural Hazards was started as apart of the training and education activities of the European Programme on Climatology and Natural Hazards (EPOCH), and is continued under the subsequent research programme (ENVIRONMENT 1990-1994). The school consists of annual courses on specialised subjects within re search in climatology and natural hazards, and is open to graduating, grad uate and post graduate students in these fields. Each of the courses is organized in cooperation with a European Institu tion involved in the current research programme, and is aimed at giving to the students formal lectures and participation in informal discussions with leading researchers. The present volume is based on the lectures given at the course held on the island of Elba from the 30th October to the 6th of November 1993 on Statistical Analysis of Climate Variability. It features selected and extended presentations, and represents an important contribution to advanced studies in climate statistical analysis, supplementing more traditional texts. I trust that all those involved in research related to climate change and climate variability will appreciate this work and will benefit from the com prehensive and state-of-the-art information it provides.

HVAC systems, load shifting, indoor climate, and energy and ventilation performance analyses are the key topics when improving energy performance in new and renovated buildings. This development has been boosted by the recently established nearly zero energy building requirements that will soon be in use in all EU Member States, as well as similar long-term zero energy building targets in Japan, the US, and other countries. The research covered in this Special Issue provides evidence of how new technical solutions have worked, in practice, in new or renovated buildings, and also discusses problems and how solutions should be further developed. Another focus is on the more detailed calculation methods needed for the correct design and sizing of dedicated systems, and for accurate quantification of energy savings. Occupant behavior and building operation is also examined, in order to avoid common performance gaps between calculated and measured performance. These topics demonstrate the challenge of high performance buildings as, in the end, comfortable buildings with good indoor climate which are easy and cheap to operate and maintain are expected by end customers. Ventilation performance, heating and cooling, sizing, energy predictions and optimization, load shifting, and field studies are some of the key topics in this Special Issue, contributing to the future of high performance buildings with reliable operation.

Climate change presents risks and opportunities for the real economies and financial sectors of the IMF’s global membership. Understanding the risks is key to prepare for a successful transition to a lower carbon global economy. This will unlock the many opportunities for technological progress and structural transformation along the path that financial sectors around the world will need to adapt to and support. This note lays out the IMF staff’s emerging approach to assessing the impact of climate change on banking sector stability risks conducted in the context of the IMF’s Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). The note starts with a primer on climate change risk, both transition and physical, explaining some of the technical terms and concepts used in this work. It explains the approach to standard risk analysis in FSAPs, and how this would be modified in broad terms to incorporate climate risk. The note then discusses different approaches to the analysis of physical versus transition risk, their implications for the macro-economy and across sectors in the real economy and different geographies, and how all these effects map into the banking sector. The note illustrates concepts with examples of applications from recent FSAPs and takes note of the many challenges confronting this work, including data gaps and uncertainty regarding climate projections and long simulation horizons in conducting the climate risk analysis. As such the note is focused on methods that IMF staff are deploying to raise awareness of the risks, and adaptation needs, including need for banks to develop tools to manage climate risks and for financial sector supervisory authorities to adequately supervise this risk.

In this report on the disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, the Science and Technology Committee calls for the climate science community to become more transparent by publishing raw data and detailed methodologies. On the accusations relating to Professor Phil Jones's refusal to share raw data and computer codes, the Committee finds there was no systematic attempt to mislead and considers that his actions were in line with common practice in the climate science community, but those practices need to change. The Committee welcomes the appointment of the independent Climate Change E-mails Review led by Sir Muir Russell to investigate fully the allegations against CRU. The Committee has not looked at the science produced by CRU and it will be for the Scientific Appraisal Panel, announced by the University on 22 March, to determine whether the work of CRU has been soundly built. On the mishandling of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, the Committee considers that much of the responsibility should lie with the University, not CRU. The leaked emails appear to show a culture of non-disclosure at CRU and instances where information may have been deleted to avoid disclosure, particularly to climate change sceptics. The failure of the University to grasp fully the potential damage this could do and did was regrettable. The University needs to re-assess how it can support academics whose expertise in FoI requests is limited.