Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial

Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZE 2022 Ours is the age of global warming. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, forest fires. Dire warnings are everywhere, so why has it taken so long for the crisis to be recognised? Here, for the first time, climate scientist Peter Stott reveals the bitter fight to get international recognition for what, among scientists, has been known for decades: human activity causes climate change. Across continents and against the efforts of sceptical governments, prominent climate change deniers and shadowy lobbyists, Hot Air is the urgent story of how the science was developed, how it has been repeatedly sabotaged and why humanity hasn't a second to spare in the fight to halt climate change.

Professor Peter Stott is a Science Fellow in Climate Attribution at the Met Office's Hadley Centre and Professor in Detection and Attribution at the University of Exeter. He has played a leading role in the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and has been published in Nature and Science among many other journals.

'Hot Air is a compelling indictment of the people and organisations that, for whateverreason, refuse to accept the evidence of human-induced global warming. The scientificcase for this has been clear for more than thirty years. It is disappointing that there is stilla need for this book, but gratifying to find such a clear exposition of the science and thepolitics. The most important book you are likely to see this year.' - John Gribbin 'Illuminating... eminently readable' - Irish Times 'Jaw-dropping... an invaluable record of how climate scientists have fought deeppocketed lobby groups.' - New Statesman 'Hot Air provides a deep insight into the nasty, iniquitous, and nefarious tactics used todeny the reality of climate change. Peter Stott's first-hand account brilliantly documentsthe 30-year war against climate scientists in the name of fossil fuels, political expedience,and climate denial.' - Prof. Mark Maslin, author of How to Save Our Planet