(February 19, 2011) The U.S. House of Representatives today voted by a wide margin — 244-179 — to defund the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The $13-million cut, which garnered support from some Democrats, is part of the House’s budget for 2011. It now goes to the U.S. Senate.

The Climategate scandal played a role in the passage of the amendment, introduced by Republican Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer, who successfully made the case that the Climategate emails discredit the UN’s claims to scientific integrity:  “emails publicly released from a university in England showed that leading global scientists intentionally manipulated climate data and suppressed legitimate arguments in peer-reviewed journals,” he stated. “Researchers were asked to delete and destroy emails so that a small number of climate alarmists could continue to advance their environmental agenda.”

Luetkemeyer’s hard-hitting attack on the UN panel is described here.

LawrenceSolomon@nextcity.com
Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Energy Probe and the author of The Deniers.