Editing Leipzig Declaration (section)

=== The 1997 Declaration ===

The 1997 declaration updated the 1995 declaration in a number of ways. The most obvious difference was its focus on the [[Kyoto Protocol]], as the Kyoto conference was in the process of being finalised. The declaration says:

: "We believe the Kyoto Protocol -- to curtail carbon dioxide emissions from only part of the world community -- is dangerously simplistic, quite ineffective, and economically destructive to jobs and standards-of-living.  ... We consider the drastic emission control policies deriving from the Kyoto conference -- lacking credible support from the underlying science -- to be ill-advised and premature."

The 1997 declaration also updated its citations of evidence that appeared to run contrary to the consensus on global warming. For example, the 1995 declaration cites "observations from earth satellites," where the 1997 declaration cites "observations from both weather satellites and balloon-borne radiosondes." As with satellite data, subsequent analysis of [[Satellite temperature measurements#Weather balloons (radiosondes)|radiosondes]] has shown{{Fact|date=September 2011}} a statistically significant warming trend.

==== Signatures ====

The declaration begins: "As independent scientists concerned with atmospheric and climate problems, we...". As with the 1995 declaration, questions have been raised about the scientific background of the signers, and others have questioned the degree to which they can be deemed to be independent. Because many of those who signed the 1997 declaration also signed the 1995 declaration, the concerns raised by David Olinger and others after the 1995 declaration are still relevant.

The signers are generally described by Fred Singer and his supporters as climate scientists, although the current signers also include 25 weather presenters. One key report opposing the scientific credentials of the signers was a Danish Broadcasting Company TV special by Øjvind Hesselager.<ref name=Jensen>{{cite web |url=http://naturalscience.com/ns/letters/ns_let08.html |title=How many climate researchers support the 'Leipzig Declaration'? |first=Christian |last=Jensen |publisher=naturalSCIENCE |date=11 February 1998 |accessdate=2014-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060329110844/http://naturalscience.com/ns/letters/ns_let08.html |archive-date=29 March 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
Hesselager attempted to contact the declaration's 33 European signers and found that four of them could not be located, twelve denied ever having signed, and some had not even heard of the Leipzig Declaration. Those who verified signing included a medical doctor, a nuclear scientist, and an [[entomologist]]. After discounting the signers whose credentials were inflated, irrelevant, false, or unverifiable, Hesselager claimed that only 20 of the names on the list had any scientific connection with the study of climate change, and some of those names were known to have obtained grants from the oil and fuel industry, including the German coal industry and the government of Kuwait (a major oil exporter). As a result of Hesselager's report, Singer removed some, but not all, of the discredited signatures. The number of signatures on the document, according to SEPP's own press releases, has declined from 140 (according to a December 1997 press release) to 105 ({{As of|2003|alt=as of February 2003}}).

SEPP's position is that "a few of the original signers did not have the 'proper' academic credentials - even though they understand the scientific climate issues quite well. To avoid this kind of smear, we want to restrict the Leipzig Declaration to signers with impeccable qualifications." To address the signer credibility issue, SEPP has provided considerably more information about each signer on their website and lists the weather presenters separately from the other signers.