maranzana

---<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/wmo-eu-reject-omics-conference-hijacked-climate-science-deniers">https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/wmo-eu-reject-omics-conference-hijacked-climate-science-deniers</a>On the face of it, the climate science conference scheduled for the romantic Italian city of Rome looks like any other.The organizers, India-based ConferenceSeries, promise their “4th World Conference on Climate Change” will attract “world class experts” from across the planet.Anticipating “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312280317_Member_of_Organizing_Committee_for_the_Climate_Change_2017_conference_in_Rome_October_19-21_2017" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">more than 500 participants</a>,” the event claimed to have an organizing committee with representatives from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the European Space Agency, and the European Environment Agency (EEA).But a DeSmog investigation reveals the event is being hijacked by a group of climate science deniers who have previously claimed they want to investigate climate scientists for fraud and have dismissed human-caused climate change as a hoax.Since being contacted by DeSmog, both the WMO and the EEA have issued statements distancing themselves from the three-day conference, scheduled to start on October 19.ConferenceSeries, also known as OMICS, promotes hundreds of meetings around the world and is behind the logistics and promotion for the Italy conference. In August 2016 the U.S. government’s <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/08/ftc-charges-academic-journal-publisher-omics-group-deceived" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Federal Trade Commission launched court action</a> against the company, alleging deceptive marketing practices. The case is ongoing.Two members of the Italy conference “<a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi7dRt0D" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">organizing committee</a>” — <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/nils-axel-morner" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Nils-Axel Mörner</a> and Franco Maranzana — were also organizers of a <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6f1wmo7o7" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">meeting for climate science deniers in London in September 2016</a>.Both are also founding members of a self-styled <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/independent-committee-geoethics" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Independent Committee on Geoethics</a> (ICG) — a group that, according to another founder <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/christopher-monckton" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Lord Christopher Monckton</a>, was <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6f1wmo7o7" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">established to investigate climate scientists</a> for fraud.  Seven presenters, including Monckton and Mörner, and one organizer of <a href="https://www.desmog.uk/2016/09/17/i-went-obscure-climate-science-denier-conference-and-what-i-learned" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">that London meeting</a>, Maranzana, are also scheduled to speak at the Rome event. Some scientists listed as attending — or even organizing — the Italy conference have told DeSmog their names “should not be on the program.”After being contacted by DeSmog, OMICS said it would “investigate” the line-up for its conference and if it found “unnecessary science,” it would contact attendees to inform them “about the real faces of those who are looking to make a platform for spreading the nonsense through our forum.”In 2016, Australia Nobel science winner <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/nobel-winner-pulls-out-of-melb-conference-run-by-controversial-indian-company-20160105-glzkof.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Professor Peter Doherty pulled out of a conference after discovering OMICS </a>was the organizer, saying: “I will not speak at this, or any future meeting that you organize.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Dawn of Truth?</h3>Mörner and Maranzana's London meeting of deniers, subtitled the “Dawn of Truth,” was forced to move venues when <a href="https://www.desmog.uk/2016/07/22/monckton-s-independent-committee-geoethics-climate-science-denial-conference-will-not-take-place-ucl" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">University College London canceled the booking</a> after discovering who was behind the event.ICG’s founding statement declares that “personal attacks have no place in science.”  Yet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHrZu0HYeNo&t=1494s" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">outside the London conference</a>, Lord Monckton, who has called young climate change campaigners “the Hitler youth,” described British physicist Professor Brian Cox as a “sad and contemptible figure,” “incompetent,” and a “fashionable pseudo-scientist.”At the London conference, Mörner gave a presentation claiming a one meter (roughly one yard) rise in sea levels by the end of this century was “impossible” and that sea levels may only rise by 15 centimeters (5.9 inches). However, many scientists now fear that a one meter rise in global sea level, which would put trillions of dollars of coastal infrastructure at risk, could be an underestimate.On multiple occasions on the <a href="http://climatechange.conferenceseries.com/organizing-committee.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ConferenceSeries</a> website, Mörner’s affiliation is given as Stockholm University, and he is <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi7dRt0D" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described as an Emeritus Professor</a>.But a spokesperson for Stockholm University told DeSmog that Mörner had “no affiliation of Emeritus Professor” and that Mörner had retired from the university in March 2005.Mörner is known for dismissing the science linking rising sea levels to greenhouse gas emissions, but his methods and claims have been debunked. Dr. John Church of the University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Center told DeSmog Mörner’s work was “totally discredited” and that he had no record “of publishing high quality papers.”Church is a world-leading expert on sea level rise, with his research appearing in the globe's top scientific journals. He has been a co-convening lead author on chapters covering sea level rise in two UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.Maranzana’s affiliation is given as “Stratex Djibouti” — a mining company based in the UK.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">NASA Speaker?</h3>Also a speaker at the London event and scheduled to appear in Italy is <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/thomas-wysmuller" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Thomas Wysmuller</a>, a member of the ICGadvisory committee. On the Italy conference program, Wysmuller’s affiliation is listed as “NASA TRCS Climate Group,” which could be easily mistaken as a legitimate group at the U.S. space agency.In fact, the letters “TRCS” stand for <a href="http://www.therightclimatestuff.com/home.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Real Climate Stuff</a> and is a group of retired NASA employees who reject the risk of human-caused climate change.Other speakers linked to 2016's London conference and also listed to appear in Rome are <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/nicola-scafetta" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Nicola Scafetta</a> of Italy, Albrecht Glatzle of Paraguay, Jan-Erik Solheim of Norway, and Fabio Pistella of Italy.Mörner, Solheim, and Glatzle also attended the 2016 UN climate talks in Marrakech as a group. One <a href="http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/11/19/skeptical-scientists-crash-un-climate-summit-praise-trump-for-bringing-science-back-again/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate science denial website quoted Glatzle</a> as supporting President Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw from the UN Paris climate agreement. That trio, plus Monckton, are also founders of a group known as <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/clexit" target="_blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Clexit</a>, which claims: “The world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade. Man does not and cannot control the climate.”WMO “Not Involved”...