Chris de Freitas

Chris de Freitas
Residence New Zealand
Fields Climatology
Institutions University of Auckland
Alma mater University of Toronto,
University of Queensland
Thesis Beach climate and recreation : thermophysiological variation, preference and behaviour (1979)

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 PhD 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 to 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 scepticism 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."

As an editor for the journal Climate Research[2] he accepted the now discredited paper which gave rise to 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

Further reading

University of Auckland website:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Our People: Dr. Chris De Freitas". University of Auckland. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Soon, Willie; Sallie Baliunas (31 January 2003). "Proxy climatic and environmental changes of the past 1000 years" (PDF). Climate Research. Inter-Research Science Center. 23: 89–110. doi:10.3354/cr023089.
  3. ↑ "Heatwave not climate change – NZ scientist". 3 News NZ. 15 January 2013.
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