Gerrit van der Lingen

Credentials

Ph.D., Geology, Utrecht University.¹

Background

Van der Lingen describes himself as a geologist/paleoclimatologist and climate change consultant. He is a founding member of The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, an organization of climate change skeptics.²

Brought together in May 2006, the NZ Climate Science Coalition states that its main goals are:

To publish and distribute papers and commentaries produced by members of the Coalition;
To audit statements by other organizations, both in New Zealand and overseas, which are published in New Zealand, or are expected to influence New Zealand public policy and public opinion;
To audit the forthcoming IPCC report, either on its own, or through the Asia Pacific Climate Science Coalition, or equivalent organization, if one has been established in time.

Stance on Climate Change

“Incidentally, the IPCC hypothesis has now been thoroughly falsified (3). Moreover, the world has not been warming anymore since 1998 and has even slightly cooled since about 2002 (Fig 2). Many astrophysicists are predicting that the planet is entering a cooling phase that could last 30 to 50 years (4).”³

Key Quotes

“We geologists can help to steer climate science away from the ideological hype and straight-jacket and return it to its proper functioning.”⁴

“That the Earth has been cooling and the fact that many signs point to a continued cooling is difficult to accept for scientists and politicians who have nailed their colours to the apocalyptic-global-warming mast.”⁵

Key Deeds

February 4, 2018

In January 2018, more than 200 scientists endorsed an open letter calling on the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to remove climate change denier Rebekah Mercer from its board and to “end ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation.” The New York Times reported that those among the AMNH letter calling for Mercer to step down were Michael E. Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, and Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University.⁶

Van der Lingen was among a group of climate change deniers who responded with their own open letter, calling for the AMNH “not to cave in to this pressure.” The letter was signed by numerous individuals with ties to groups funded by the Mercer Family Foundation such as Will Happer of the CO2 CoalitionRichard Lindzen, a fellow at the Cato InstituteCraig Idso, the chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. There are a number of signatories affiliated with the Heartland Institute, which has received over $5.78 million from the Mercer Family Foundation since 2008.⁷

The letter reads:⁸

“The Earth has supported abundant life many times in the geological past when there were much higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is quite likely that future generations will benefit from the enrichment of Earth’s atmosphere with more carbon dioxide.

“Make no mistake, the agitators are not defending science from quackery — quite the contrary!”

August, 2016

Gerrit van der Lingen is listed as a “Founding Member” of group named Climate Exit (Clexit) led by climate change denier Christopher Monckton. According to Clexit’s founding statement (PDF), “The world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade. Man does not and cannot control the climate.”⁹ ¹⁰

Desmog reports on how the group grew in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. A key member of Clexit’s “60 well-informed science, business and economic leaders” is Hugh Morgan, a former board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and former CEO of Western Mining Corporation with close ties to Australia’s Liberal party.¹¹ ¹²

According to Clexit’s founding statement:

“If the Paris climate accord is ratified, or enforced locally by compliant governments, it will strangle the leading economies of the world with pointless carbon taxes and costly climate and energy policies, all with no sound basis in evidence or science […]”¹³

November 19, 2009

Van der Lingen authored a “open letter” to NZ Climate Change Minister Nick Smith. The letter refers to a discussion Van der Lingen had with Smith “at the pre-dinner drinks at the Annual Conference of Architectural Designers” where Smith had agreed with his views on climate change.¹⁴

But when Smith’s policy decisions didn’t reflect his views in the informal chat, Van der Lingen sent an open letter to clarify how global warming is alternately a “blatant lie,” “the biggest scam in human history,” “a major threat to democratic freedoms” and, generally, “propaganda.”

Van der Lingen describes how “the planet has been cooling for the past decade” and makes reference to a list of “32,000 American scientists” who doubt climate change.

This list is likely the infamous Oregon Petition, created by the “Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine” along with the Exxon-funded George C. Marshall Institute. A vast majority of the signatories were found to have no credentials related to climate science and many entries were found to be fake or repeated.

March 4, 2008

Van der Lingen is an endorser of the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change, which was created by the ICSC in 2008 and initially presented at the Heartland Institute’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.¹⁵

The declaration states that “global warming is not a global crisis” and that “there is no convincing evidence that CO2 emissions from modern industrial activity has in the past, is now, or will in the future cause catastrophic climate change.”

December 13, 2007

Van der Lingen is listed as a signatory to an open letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.¹⁶

The open letter describes global warming as “a natural phenomenon that has affected humanity through the ages,” and describes CO2 as a “non-polluting gas that is essential to plant photosynthesis.”

The letter claims “the IPCC’s conclusions are quite inadequate as justification for implementing policies that will markedly diminish future prosperity” and summarizes that

“attempts to prevent global climate change from occurring are ultimately futile, and constitute a tragic misallocation of resources that would be better spent on humanity’s real and pressing problems.”

April, 2006

Van der Lingen signed an open letter to Stephen Harper which recommended that the government stall any action on climate policy because the “climate changes all the time due to natural causes.”

The letter advocates a delay or cancelation of the implementation of Kyto reductions, and states that “allocating funds to ‘stopping climate change’ would be irrational.”

Many prominent skeptics were signatories including Tim Ball, David Wojick, Chris de Freitas, Ian Clark, Paul Copper and the list goes on.

Affiliations

Publications

According to a search of 22,000 academic journals, Van der Lingen has not published any research in a peer-reviewed journal on the subject of climate change. Google scholar lists two articles published by Van der Lingen in the 1970s.

Other Resources

Resources

1
“New Zealand Parliamentary Select Committee: Emissions Trading Scheme Review” (PDF), Submission by Dr Gerrit J. van der Lingen. Accessed January, 2012, from www.parliament.nz.
2
“Scientists Group to Refute Global Warming Claims” (Press Release: Center for Resource Management Studies), Scoop Independent News, May 1, 2006.
3
Dr. Gerrit van der Lingen. “Ruminants not Kyoto villains” (PDF), climatescience.org.nz. Accessed January, 2012.
4
Gerrit J. vand er Lingen. “The Anthropogenic Global Warming Doctrine,” Newsletter of the Geological Society of New Zealand, No. 138 (November, 2005). Republished by the Science and Environmental Policy Project. Archived September 28, 2006.
5
“New Zealand Parliamentary Select Committee: Emissions Trading Scheme Review” (PDF), Submission by Dr Gerrit J. van der Lingen. Accessed January, 2012, from www.parliament.nz.
6
Robin Pogrebin and Somini Sengupta. “A Science Denier at the Natural History Museum? Scientists Rebel,” The New York Times, January 25, 2018. Archived February 13, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tAIv4
7
Graham Readfearn. “Climate Science Deniers Defend New York’s American Museum of Natural History From Calls to Drop Trustee Rebekah Mercer,” DeSmog, February 6, 2018.
8
mnh18-feb4-petitionletter (PDF – Untitled). Retrieved from Watts Up With That.
9
“The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.
10
“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.
11
Graham Readfearn. “After Brexit, Climate Science Denialists Form New Group to Call for a Clexit,” Desmog, August 3, 2016.
12
“Hugh Morgan AO,” Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived February 22, 2002. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/1ObOB
13
“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.
14
“Open Letter to Climate Change Minister Nick Smith” (Press Release), Scoop Independent News, November 19, 2009.
15
“QUALIFIED ENDORSERS NOT AT CONFERENCE,” International Climate Science Coalition. Accessed January, 2012.
16
“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute.
17
“WHO WE ARE,” International Climate Science Coalition. Accessed January, 2012.
18
“Scientists Group to Refute Global Warming Claims” (Press Release: Center for Resource Management Studies), Scoop Independent News, May 1, 2006.
19
“The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.