Harry N.A. Priem
Credentials
- Ph.D.1“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived January 18, 2010.
- Emeritus Professor of Planetary Geology and Isotope Geophysics, Utrecht University.2“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived January 18, 2010.
Background
Harry N.A. Priem is a retired Professor of Isotope and Planetary Geology at Utrecht University (1970 – 1997).
He is the former director of the Institute for Isotope-Geophysics in Amsterdam (1963 – 1989), former chairman of the Royal Dutch Geological and Mining Society (1973 – 1978), and curato of the Zoo Geological Museum (since 1990).3“prof. dr. Harry Priem,” Kennislink.nl. Accessed February, 2012. Translated with Google Translate.
Priem’s name appears on Senator Inhofe’s list of “prominent scientists” who dispute the science of man-made global warming. He is listed as one of 49 who are retired.
Stance on Climate Change
Priem is a signatory to the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change which states that: “global climate has always changed and always will, independent of the actions of humans, and that carbon dioxide (CO2) is not a pollutant but rather a necessity for all life…”
Key Quotes
“The fluctuations in the carbon dioxide concentration appear to track those in temperature to a remarkable degree, but a closer look reveals that the fluctuations generally lag behind those in temperature. Never does a changing carbon dioxide concentration precede that of temperature.”4Harry N.A. Priem. “Climate Change: the human influence analysed,” Paper based on the meeting of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) on the occasion of the inauguration of the European Center for Inquiry, Rossdorf (Germany), 2-3 September 2000. Archived February 17, 2001.
Key Deeds
March 4, 2008
Priem is listed as a “climate expert” who signed the 2008 Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change. The declaration was first presented for consideration at the Heartland Institute’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.5“CLIMATE EXPERTS WHO SIGNED MANHATTAN DECLARATION,” International Climate Science Coalition. Accessed February, 2012.
The declaration was created by the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) and concludes that “attempts by governments to legislate costly regulations on industry and individual citizens to encourage CO2 reduction will slow development while having no appreciable impact on the future trajectory of global climate change.”
December 13, 2007
Priem a signatory to a 2007 open letter to the UN Secretary General. The letter describes global warming as a natural phenomenon, and claims that the IPCC’s reports are not adequate as justification for climate change policy.6“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived January 18, 2010.
April 2006
Priem signed a 2006 open letter to Prime Minister Harper that urged the government stall any action on climate policy, suggesting that climate change may have natural causes.
November 21, 2000
Priem attended a briefing titled “Climate Is not Warming – Has not Warmed in 60 Years” that was co-sponsored by the Cooler Heads Coalition. The briefing supposedly uncovered “a preponderance of evidence against any global warming in the last 60 years.”7“CLIMATE IS NOT WARMING – HAS NOT WARMED IN 60 YEARS,” A Briefing by the Science & Environmental Policy Project at COP-6, November 21, 2000. Archived February 15, 2007.
The four-member panel at the briefing consisted of Richard Courtney, Harry N.A. Priem, S. Fred Singer and Gerd-Rainer Weber.
The Cooler Heads Coalition was originally tied to the industry-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and was a project of the National Consumers Coalition. The Consumers Coalition is made up of 23 free market think tanks, including many with oil industry ties such as the Heartland Institute, the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and the George C. Marshall Institute.
Affiliations
- Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) — Member, Board of Advisors. 8“CFACT Board of Advisors,” Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, July 8, 2009.
- European Science and Environment Forum (ESEF) — Past “Academic Member” as of August, 1998. ESEF is now defunct.9“Facts versus Factions: the use and abuse of subjectivity in scientific research” (PDF), ESEF working paper, February 1998. Archived November 4, 2005.
Publications
According to a search of 22,000 academic journals, Priem has published more than 30 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, mainly in the area of geology.
Notable Publications:
- “Co2 and Climate: a Geologist’s View,” Space Science Reviews, Volume 81, Number 1-2 (1997).
Other Resources
Resources
- 1“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived January 18, 2010.
- 2“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived January 18, 2010.
- 3“prof. dr. Harry Priem,” Kennislink.nl. Accessed February, 2012. Translated with Google Translate.
- 4Harry N.A. Priem. “Climate Change: the human influence analysed,” Paper based on the meeting of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) on the occasion of the inauguration of the European Center for Inquiry, Rossdorf (Germany), 2-3 September 2000. Archived February 17, 2001.
- 5“CLIMATE EXPERTS WHO SIGNED MANHATTAN DECLARATION,” International Climate Science Coalition. Accessed February, 2012.
- 6“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived January 18, 2010.
- 7“CLIMATE IS NOT WARMING – HAS NOT WARMED IN 60 YEARS,” A Briefing by the Science & Environmental Policy Project at COP-6, November 21, 2000. Archived February 15, 2007.
- 8“CFACT Board of Advisors,” Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, July 8, 2009.
- 9“Facts versus Factions: the use and abuse of subjectivity in scientific research” (PDF), ESEF working paper, February 1998. Archived November 4, 2005.
