Climate-Change Scientist Steps Aside Amid Probe
By KEITH JOHNSON
The head of the British climate-research center at the heart of a scandal over the contents of hacked emails has temporarily left his post pending an internal investigation.
Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, said Tuesday he will "step aside" while the university conducts an internal review into how scientists at the facility conducted research into global warming in recent years.
The CRU has been at the center of a controversy over climate science after thousands of emails and other documents were hacked and publicly released earlier this month. The documents showed climate scientists, including Dr. Jones, discussing putting pressure on scientific publications to exclude research by scientists with whom they disagreed.
The hacked emails also appear to show scientists, including Dr. Jones, discussing the destruction of data subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.
The revelations led to calls for investigations into the state of climate science from U.S. politicians skeptical that humans are causing global warming. They have also drawn criticism from some high-profile environmentalists.
In a statement posted on the university's Web site, Dr. Jones said: "What is most important is that CRU continues its world leading research with as little interruption and diversion as possible.
After a good deal of consideration I have decided that the best way to achieve this is by stepping aside from the Director's role during the course of the independent review and am grateful to the University for agreeing to this."
Another climate scientist included in the emails, Penn State University's Michael Mann, is under "inquiry" by Penn State as a result of the publication of the hacked emails. The university said in a statement that an inquiry is a preliminary step to determine if a full investigation is needed. Dr. Mann couldn't immediately be reached for comment.