Chris de Freitas

Chris de Freitas is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Education and professional career

De Freitas, born in Trinidad, received both his Bachelor's and his Master's at the University of Toronto, Canada, after which he earned his Ph.D. in Climatology as a Commonwealth Scholar from the University of Queensland, Australia.^[1] During his time at the University of Auckland, he has served as Deputy Dean of Science, Head of Science and Technology, and for four years as Pro Vice Chancellor.^[1] He is a former Vice President of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand and is a founding member of the Australia-New Zealand Climate Forum as well as serving on the Executive Board of the International Society of Biometeorology from 1999-2001.^[1] He has written extensively in popular media on an array of environmental and climate-related issues. The New Zealand Association of Scientists has made him a four-time recipient of their Science Communicator Award.^[1]

Global warming and skepticism about anthropogenic causes

De Freitas has questioned anthropogenic global warming, and the way information is received and interpreted. He has written that carbon dioxide emissions themselves may not necessarily be the source of recent increases in global temperature. In the New Zealand Herald (9 May 2006), he wrote:

"There is evidence of global warming. The climate has warmed about 0.6 °C in the past 100 years, but most of that warming occurred prior to 1940, before the post World War II industrialisation that led to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. But warming does not confirm that carbon dioxide is causing it. Climate is always warming or cooling. There are natural variability theories of warming."

He was an editor for the journal Climate Research ^[2] and was involved in the Soon and Baliunas controversy.

In 2013 De Freitas said the devastating heatwave and wildfires that ravaged New South Wales in January were not linked to climate change, and said the Earth hasn't warmed at all in a decade.^[3]

Selected publications

• Carter, R.M., de Freitas, C.R., Goklany, I.M., Holland, D. and Lindzen, R.S., 2007. Climate Science and the Stern Review. World Economics, 8 (2), 161-182.

• Khan, B.A., C.R. de Freitas and D. Shooter, 2007. Application of synoptic weather typing to an investigation of Nocturnal ozone concentration at a maritime location, New Zealand, Atmospheric Environment, 41, 5636–5646.

• Carter, R.M., de Freitas, C.R., Goklany, I.M., Holland, D. and Lindzen, R.S., 2006. The Stern Review: A Dual Critique. Part I: The Science. World Economics, 7 (4), 165-232.

• De Freitas, C.R., 2003: Tourism climatology: evaluating environmental information for decision making and business planning in the recreation and tourism sector. International Journal of Biometeorology, 48 (1), 45-54.

• De Freitas, C.R. and A.A. Schmekal, 2003: Condensation as a microclimate process: Measurement, numerical simulation and prediction in the Glowworm Tourist Cave, New Zealand. International Journal of Climatology, 23 (5), 557-575.

Further reading

University of Auckland website:

• "Evidence Must Prevail" by Chris de Freitas (The New Zealand Herald 9 May 2006)

• "Global Warming Skeptics Are Facing Storm Clouds" by Antonio Regaldo (Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2003)

• "Politics Reasserts Itself in the Debate Over Climate Change and Its Hazards" by Andrew C. Revkin (New York Times, August 5, 2003)

• "Storm Brews Over Global Warming" by Richard Monasterky (Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 September 2003)

• "Proxy climatic and environmental changes of the past 1000 years" by Willie Soon & Sallie Baliunas (Climate Research, Vol. 23: 89–110, 2003)

• "Are observed changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere really dangerous?" by Prof. Chris de Freitas (Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology Vol. 50, No. 2 (June, 2002))

• Debate between Dr Jean Paultikof and Dr Chris de Freitas

References

• de Freitas, Chris (16 January 2006). "Keep a weather eye on climate change". The New Zealand Herald.