A NUMBER of Australia’s leading climate scientists have been moved into safer accommodation after receiving death threats, in a further escalation of the country’s increasingly febrile carbon price debate.
The revelation of the death threats follows a week of bitter exchanges between the government and the opposition in the wake of a pro-carbon price TV advert featuring actor Cate Blanchett.
The Australia National University in Canberra said it had moved a number of its climate scientists to a secure facility after they received a large number of threatening e-mails and phone calls. Ian Young, university vice-chancellor, told ABC national radio that the threats had worsened in recent weeks. “Obviously climate research is an emotive issue at the present time,” he said. “These are issues where we should have a logical public debate and it’s completely intolerable that people be subjected to this sort of abuse and to threats like this.” Among those targeted was Prof Will Steffen, the university’s climate institute director and co-author of a high-profile Climate Commission report that was published two weeks ago. The report calls for urgent action to avoid sea level rises of a metre or more over the course of the next century.
The death threats have not been confined to the university in Canberra. Universities in New South Wales and Queensland are also tightening security for more than 30 ecology, environmental policy and meteorology researchers, according to the Canberra Times.
Several scientists have reportedly switched to unlisted home phone numbers and deleted social media profiles that have been defaced by abuse and obscene images. Police have said they are aware of the threats but have yet to receive a complaint.
Prof David Koroly, of the University of Melbourne’s school of earth science, said he receives threats whenever he is interviewed. “It is clear that there is a campaign in terms of either organised or disorganised threats to discourage scientists from presenting the best available climate science on television or radio,” he said.