IPCC 4AR Summary for Policy Makers: What the (UK) Papers Say

The the 'Summary for Policy Makers' (SPM) of the WG1 Contribution to the Fourth Assesment Report (4AR).

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The 4AR is comprised of 3 parts, dealing with the science (WG1), the mitigation of (WG3) and the adaptation to (WG 2) climate change. Each of these three working groups will release a summary and a full report.

The summary for policy makers of working group one's findings has just been released and it is what you have hear all the reports about in the media recently.

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What the UK national papers are saying:

We have moved beyond the debate about weather climate change is or is not happening. I have read all of the leading articles on climate change in the UK papers and none of them deny the basic science, nor the need for action.

I last reviewed uk papers when the stern review was released, post here.

Broadsheets

Rightwing/Conservative/conservative

Times

The Times is the clasic uk 'establishment' paper. The ipcc report recieves coverage in several articles, the lead being entitled 'End of Debate over Global Warming'.

Telegraph

The most right wing uk broadsheet. Remember how important the begining of an article is, here is the start of the Telegraphs article, it ends not by instilling uncertainty but by talking about a plan.

It is now beyond doubt that Earth's climate is warming and "very likely" that most of the increase since the mid-20th century is the result of mankind's activities, a panel of UN scientists said yesterday.

Financial Times

The Financial Times is THE busines paper in the UK. On the day the report was released the FT gives a rundown on the report. The day after it leads with a call to action for the business community, 'Urgent need for action on climate change'.

Leftwing/Labour/liberal

Guardian
Independant

Both papers have done little esle for the last couple of days, this is great, if a little predictable!

Tabloids

Mail

The end of contrarians in the mail? Not often known for it's progressive stance on...anything, the mail has atlast joined the consensus. It includes the following statement, making the credibility of this report clear: 'The evidence in a new report published in Paris has the finest pedigree - the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which draws together 2,500 scientists from more than 130 countries.'


Sun

Again, the sun makes a notable shift in it's coverage of climate change. It dosnet do this spectacularly, mearly by not taking any side swipes at the govornment for the problem!

Mirror

The mirror leads with very stongly worded coverage of the issue, this is very interesting to see, climate change being delt with in a serious way within one of the tabloids.

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