Abuse inspires us to go on, says Climategate professor

THE abuse that scientists face reminds them how important their work is, the professor who inspired a BBC drama has said.

Prof Phil Jones was director of the Climate Research Unit when hackers stole private emails in 2009 in what became known as “Climategate”. The documents were published and used to accuse him of falsifying climate change data, and he received abuse as a result.

He was cleared in subsequent inquiries and reinstated as director of research at the CRU a year later after briefly stepping down. He said he still received hate mail 12 years after the incident.

His story is the basis of The Trick, a BBC drama that recounts how his work was called into question by climate change deniers. Speaking of the abuse faced by scientists, he said: “It tells us the work is really important and inspires us to continue.”

Prof Jones told BBC Look East: “It was a really awful time – I was used to dealing with comments on my work at scientific conferences, but when the media storm arrived, I just couldn’t respond to it. We were fighting against a massive tide, and people didn’t seem to want to know about the science, they wanted to know about a few words in a few emails.”

He said his work on climate change could be compared to how other scientists’ work on vaccines were viewed today. “They are really just messengers of the work they do; there shouldn’t be this hate. People have to stand up for science, and realise scientists themselves need protecting.”

Mr Jones said that he has “got to be hopeful” about the Cop26 climate conference this month. “The science is much stronger now,” he said.