AGU Statement Regarding the Recent Release of E-mails Hacked from the Climate Research Unit at University of East Anglia

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has received a number of inquiries asking about our response to the release of e-mail hacked from the Climate Research Unit at University of East Anglia. AGU finds it offensive that these emails were obtained by illegal cyber attacks and they are being exploited to distort the scientific debate about the urgent issue of climate change.

AGU's position statement on climate change

AGU reaffirms the position statement approved by AGU Council in 2007. This statement is based on the large body of scientific evidence that Earth's climate is warming and that human activity is a contributing factor. Nothing in the University of East Anglia hacked e-mails represents a significant challenge to that body of scientific evidence.

AGU policy requires that all position statements be reviewed after four years and updated as necessary. AGU's position statement on climate change will be reviewed in 2011 and modified as needed to reflect evidence of recent scientific research.

Scientific inquiry and publishing

AGU is, and always has been, firmly committed to maintaining the highest standards of publishing excellence, including the objectivity and integrity of the peer review process for all our publications. We do not censor the authors of papers submitted to our journals or the editors of those journals.

Science and the scientific method is seldom a linear march to the “correct” and indisputable answer. Disagreement among scientists is part of the energy that moves inquiry forward. AGU’s publications in Earth and space science provide platforms for scientists to present the results of their original research in scholarly journals with high professional standards. The primary requirement is that the research passes through a rigorous peer review process.

In the area of climate research, AGU has published — and will continue to publish — excellent, peer-reviewed scientific findings without regard to whether those findings might be interpreted as supporting or contradicting prevailing views on climate change and the impact of human activity on climate.

AGU meetings as a forum for scientific exchange

AGU welcomes the participation of all scientists at its professional meetings and conferences. Scientists are not censored in any way, and abstracts are not peer reviewed. We view an AGU meeting as an open forum for scientific discussion. When we organize our meeting activities the conveners strive to put together sessions that are balanced in terms of the numbers of presentations per session, the breadth of treatment they provide on given topics, and the mixture of incremental and breakthrough scientific results they present. This process allows for those with opinions that fall outside the mainstream to present their ideas.