Michael Mann, Penn State University meteorology professor, said Climategate is an attack on man-made global warming scientists.
"I think it is unfortunate that some scientists out there are using this situation to settle personal scores, to settle a vendetta," Mann said, in an exclusive interview with AccuWeather.com's Katie Fehlinger.
Watch Interview with Michael Mann
Mann said that the e-mail leak happened just in time for the Dec. 7, 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where world leaders, including President Obama, hope to come to an agreement on a framework for future international climate change mitigation.
"It is not a coincidence... that this event happened in the weeks leading up to the summit in Copenhagen," said Mann. "They've taken scientists' words and phrases and quoted them out of context, completely misrepresenting what they were saying."
Despite skepticism, Mann insisted that global warming is real."My main interest right now is to make sure that this manufactured controversy does not distract policy makers," said Mann.
Ultimately, Mann feels that scientists are not holding climate change data back from the public.
The community is doing a good job at putting the data out there... there really is nothing to hide," Mann said.
Phil Jones, director of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) from which questionable global warming e-mails were leaked, temporarily stepped down from his position yesterday to allow for investigation to continue without disruption. Mann protected his work and the work of his peers as Penn State launched an investigation into what critics call a fabrication of global warming data.
"Phil Jones is a very honest scientist," Mann said. "He was probably talking about getting rid of measurements that they didn't consider reliable."
Penn State is conducting an inquiry into Mann's possible role in the controversy, as reported by The Daily Collegian.
Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) is asking the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to hold hearings on the Climategate matter.
Eduardo Zorita, scientist at the Institute for Coastal Research, is calling for Mann, Jones and others to be banned from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process for the review and publication of climate change data.
"The scientific assessments in which they may take part are not credible anymore," said Zorita.
Marc Morano, climate change skeptic and executive editor of ClimateDepot.com, agrees.
"Mann has been dogged for years about his scientific work. Climategate exposes his glaring weaknesses as a scientist," he said in an e-mail to AccuWeather.com.
AccuWeather.com's Katie Fehlinger hosts "Headline Earth," a weekly video series that reports climate change current events and issues.
Story by AccuWeather.com's Carly Porter, Gina Cherundolo and Katie Fehlinger
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