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Advocates of the man-made climate change hypothesis should accept that there has been 'no significant global warming since 1995' - claim UKIP

It may have come to readers' notice that CERN has produced some pretty serious data concerning the effect of solar activity on climate change. For those who do not know, CERN is one of the oldest and most prestigious research establishments devoted to the discipline of physics, it is independent and Swiss based.

Now recent pollsters in Europe and Northern America have suggested interest in this subject is on a rapid downward spiral. This is a shame because it is one of the greatest global economic dilemmas we have faced. Independent climate scientists or, indeed, scholars from every discipline - including economists - are equally split in their views. As a substitute member of the parliamentary Energy and Environment Committee, I am privy to significant information - which does not float across the desks of journalists, businessmen, professionals or any of the chattering classes. If a researcher is employed directly or even indirectly by an organisation, which has a vested interest in the outcome, I fear I am deeply sceptical.

But it is time we approached the subject anew. Especially in Europe, where the stakes are so high. Rather than reproduce graphics and statistics from CERN to make the point for or against man-made global warming, we would do well to ponder the current position. I aim to run some pretty non-controversial facts past you, not to change anyone's view per se - but to attain some common ground, which might prove a fruitful base from which to move the debate forward.
What do we know, therefore? Well it is pretty indisputable that the world has been, if not warmer, as warm in our history. The Minoan, Roman and Medieval periods were warm. Vineyards at Hadrian's Wall and cereal crops in Greenland were familiar to the young O-Level student of my generation. We are also familiar with the mini Ice Age, which came upon us at the time of the War of the Roses, the English Civil War and lasted through most of the 19th century. Those pictures of Londoners skating on the Thames were not "romantically" based.

We also know - well, actually, you might not because it is a bit of a well-kept secret - that there is no evidence of increases in carbon dioxide preceding global warming. In fact, quite the reverse. If you have the Al Gore film - banned in American schools by the Institute of Science - freeze frame when he refers to this graphic. It is quite clear carbon dioxide increases after global warming by a few hundred years. We know also that the University of East Anglia deceived the public with the fake "hockey stick" graph. Make of that what you will.

Both NASA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - advocates of the hypothesis that man-made carbon dioxide emissions will cause cataclysmic global warming - have conceded that there has been "no significant global warming, statistically since 1995". Another generally accepted concession is that the globe has actually cooled by 0.7 centigrade in the last five years. No, I am not suggesting that means anything. On a more anecdotal note, we know in the UK that we have had three freezing winters in a row. The last one, the coldest on record. It would also appear that this latest summer is the coolest for 18 years.

None of this proves anything. But, billions of euros, dollars and pounds are being spent by politicians - who have completely accepted this warming hypothesis. Fuel poverty is rising rapidly. European manufacturers are threatened with ever-increasing costs. Third World countries are seeing food prices rise as we burn food. Communities and landscapes are devastated by wind turbines, which are already seen to be failing.

Perhaps, CERN is on to something. It's the sun, stupid. When I was 25 years old, the science was "settled". We were going into a new mini Ice Age. I wonder if our children and grandchildren will wonder what we were on when we made some of those strategic energy decisions.

Godfrey Bloom is a UK Independence Party MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire and the party's energy spokesman