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‘Hot mess’ paper questioning CO2 and climate change gets retracted
Retraction Watch • • world
Key Points:
- A paper published in August 2023 by Stuart Harris in the MDPI journal Atmosphere, which questioned the link between carbon dioxide and climate change, has been retracted due to significant concerns including unsupported conclusions and data inaccuracies.
- The paper contained numerous errors, such as incorrect claims about CO2 measurement locations, misinterpretation of global warming data, and an inaccurate timeline for Neanderthal extinction.
- Climate scientists criticized the paper for fundamental misunderstandings of climate science, with one noting the unusually fast peer-review process as a red flag.
- The journal's investigation found issues with literature assessment, data interpretation, and reference attribution, and Harris's responses failed to resolve these problems, leading to the paper’s retraction on September 16.
- The paper had gained significant attention online, including coverage by climate skeptic platforms, but was widely dismissed by experts for its flawed methodology and conclusions.
