An independent report into the climategate scandal has left the involved scientists mostly vindicated, with only a minor slap on the wrist.
The panel of inquiry, led by former U.K. civil servant Muir Russell, found that the scientists “rigour and honesty as scientists [is] not in doubt.” The report went on to say that they “did not find any evidence of behaviour that might undermine the conclusions of the IPCC assessments.”
However the report did mention that they had found that there had “…been a consistent pattern of failing to display the proper degree of openness” in failing to share their data with climate sceptics.
This is the third major investigation into the theft and spread of more than a thousand emails taken from a backup server at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. The emails showcased climate scientists from the university badmouthing their critics, discussing ways to stonewall sceptics and how to freeze opponents out of peer-reviewed journals.
The scandal that followed put much of the IPCC’s assessments in doubt and gave rise to more hate directed the way of climate scientists who believe that humans have increased warming on Earth.
The full 160 page report can be downloaded here (PDF), which includes seven pages of summary introduction.
