From The Washington Times:
Whenever climate models overestimate temperatures linked to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, scientists have pointed to a convenient fall guy: aerosols, which cool the planet and act as a counterweight to global warming.
But what if the cooling influence of aerosols isn’t as powerful as believed? Preliminary findings from a major study by the University of Reading released this week have provided strong corroboration for the argument that widely used climate models are overstating the impact of aerosols, meaning that the case for man-made global warming is also being oversold.
Paul “Chip” Knappenberger, assistant director for the Center of the Study of Science at the free market Cato Institute, called the study a potential game-changer that challenges the catastrophic climate change narrative.
“It undercuts climate alarm,” said Mr. Knappenberger, who describes himself as a climate “lukewarmist.” “Those climate model projections are what’s driving climate policy. If those are two times too high, then it just takes a lot of the wind out of the need for a rapid and dramatic climate response.”