Climate Science: 1996-2003

This paper quantitatively explores some dimensions of climate science over time. National samples of climate scientist were selected on the basis of opposing political rhetoric between the countries which they advise, namely Germany and the USA. Concerning the physics of climate models, in all cases the German science community expresses an equal or higher appraisal of the ability of models than does the US counterpart. This trend is also evident when addressing the predictive capabilities of models. Both communities are unanimous however, that mitigation as opposed to adaptation should be the favored option. Nonetheless, there remain a considerable number of reported knowledge gaps, most notably in the science proper of climate science. Consistent over the years is the fact that perceived knowledge gaps narrow the further removed they are from details of the science itself. Overall, findings suggest that it is more than the efforts of science that shape climate change policy.