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Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen (Born 1942) is an Emeritus Reader in the Department of Geography at the University of Hull in Kingston-upon-Hull England, where she taught environmental policy, management and politics. She has been editor of the journal Energy & Environment since 1998 and an Expert Reviewer for the IPCC.

Early life and education

Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen was born in Dresden, East Germany. In 1956, she moved to Adelaide, South Australia, where she obtained a research degree in Geomorphology from Adelaide University while also studying climatology, geology, physical geography and German literature. She moved again to England in 1969 and later attended the University of Sussex where she received a D.Phil. in International Relations in 1981. Her doctoral thesis was titled, Limits to the international control of marine pollution.

Career

Boehmer-Christiansen joined the Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex in 1985, working for a decade as a Research Fellow and then later as a Visiting Fellow. Since the mid-1990s she had taught environmental policy, management and politics in the Geography Department at the University of Hull. As an Emeritus Reader she still works from the University of Hull's Geography Department.

She is a past member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future.

Political views

Climate change

Boehmer-Christiansen has been a critic of climate models saying they are based on data that cannot be verified. She has also been critical of climate research funding, asserting that "Some university research units have almost become wholly-owned subsidiaries of Government Departments. Their survival, and the livelihoods of their employees, depends on delivering what policy makers think they want."

In 2006, she signed an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to open the Kyoto Protocol to debate by holding balanced, comprehensive public-consultation sessions on the Canadian government's climate change plans. Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011.

Third-party views

According to Fred Pearce, Boehmer-Christiansen is a sceptic about acid rain and global warming and calls the science reports produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "political constructs."

Gavin Schmidt alleged that Boehmer-Christiansen published a paper in Energy & Environment against the recommendations of a reviewer. Boehmer-Christiansen argued that the author of the paper in question has had his theory published in the peer-reviewed literature and therefore could still be published in E&E as a viewpoint for debate but not as peer-reviewed.

Selected publications

• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (1991). Acid politics: Environmental and energy policies in Britain and Germany. Belhaven Press. ISBN 1852931167. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (1995). The politics of reducing vehicle emissions in Britain and Germany. London and Madison. ISBN 1855672030. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (2002). International Environmental Policy: Interests and the Failure of the Kyoto Process. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 184064818X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (1997). "A winning coalition of advocacy: climate research, bureaucracy and 'alternative' fuels: Who is driving climate change policy?". Energy Policy. 25 (4): 439–444. doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(97)00016-5.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (2002). "The geo-politics of sustainable development: bureaucracies and politicians in search of the holy grail". Geoforum. 33 (3): 351–365. doi:10.1016/S0016-7185(02)00018-0.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (2003). "Science, Equity, and the War against Carbon". Science, Technology & Human Values. 28 (1): 69–92. doi:10.1177/0162243902238496.

References

1. ^ "Geography Department: Academic Staff". University of Hull. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
2. ^ "Dr Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen". University of Hull. Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
3. ^ "Enlightening the Future 2024 Survey - Dr Sonja A Boehmer-Christiansen". Spiked. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
4. "Scientific Advisory Forum". The Scientific Alliance. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
5. ^ "Dr. Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen". OGEL. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
6. "Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report - Annex A. Authors and Expert Reviewers". IPCC. 2001. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
7. "Climate Change 2001: Working Group I: The Scientific Basis - Appendix IV - Reviewers of the IPCC WGI Third Assessment Report". IPCC. 2001. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
8. ^ Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (February, 2010). "Memorandum submitted by Dr Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen (CRU 26)". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2012-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. ^ "The disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia" (PDF). House of Commons. March 24, 2010. p. 124. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
10. Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja A. (1990). "Emerging international principles of environmental protection and their impact on Britain". The Environmentalist. 10 (2): 95.
11. Boehmer-Christiansen, S.A. (1981). "Limits to the international control of marine pollution". University of Sussex. Retrieved 2012-6-29. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
12. "SPRU Annual Report - SPRU Staff: Associate Staff - Visiting Fellows and Professors" (PDF). University of Sussex. 1998. p. 39. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
13. "Stakeholder Forum - Annual Report 2001-2002" (PDF). Stakeholder Forum. 2002. p. 25. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
14. "Tuvalu's tides divide scientists". The Age. August 25, 2004. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
15. Orlowski, Andrew (March 1, 2010). "UK Physicists on Climategate: Intolerance, sub prime stats, wider enquiry needed". The Register. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
16. "Open Kyoto to debate - An open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper". National Post. April 11, 2006. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
17. Austen, Ian (December 21, 2011). "Canada Announces Exit From Kyoto Climate Treaty". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
18. Pearce, Fred, The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth about Global Warming, (2010) Guardian Books, ISBN 978-0-85265-229-9, p. XIV.
19. Barley, Shanta (February 25, 2011). "Real Climate faces libel suit". The Guardian.
20. "Peer Review At E&E: A Case Study". February 23, 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
21. Manuel, Oliver K. (2002). "Superfluidity in the Solar Interior: Implications for Solar Eruptions and Climate". 21 (3–4): 193–198. Retrieved 2012-06-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• Energy and Environment
• What inspired you? - Dr Sonja A Boehmer-Christiansen
• Key challenges for the next generation - Dr Sonja A Boehmer-Christiansen

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• Living people
• Environmental skepticism
• Climate change skeptics