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ARTICLE · 18 OCTOBER 2010

Climate change: How strong is the evidence?

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Is climate change science "real science"? Can climate change experts give expert evidence in court?

CanadaEnvironment
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Is climate change science "real science"? Can climate change experts give expert evidence in court?

Canadian courts have not yet wrestled with this issue, but American courts have. The leading case is Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie. In 2007, the auto industry tried to prevent leading climate change experts from giving expert evidence, on the ground that their work was not reliable science, and did not meet Daubert criteria (the legal test used to keep junk science from cluttering up courtrooms). The case involved an auto industry lawsuit to block Vermont from following California limits on GHG emissions from automobiles. Judge Sessions ruled that Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Barrett Rock and Mr. K.G. Duleep could offer reliable expert evidence about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. About Dr. Hansen, for example, he ruled:

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