https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatic_Research_Unit_email_controversyThe story was first broken by climate change denialists,[6] with columnist James Delingpole popularising the term "Climategate" to describe the controversy.[7] They argued that the emails showed that global warming was a scientific conspiracy and that scientists manipulated climate data and attempted to suppress critics.[8][9]
The CRU rejected this, saying that the emails had been taken out of context and merely reflected an honest exchange of ideas.[10][11] (выделение жирным здесь и далее моё — И. А.)
The mainstream media picked up the story, as negotiations over climate change mitigation began in Copenhagen on 7 December 2009.[12]
Because of the timing, scientists, policy makers and public relations experts said that the release of emails was a smear campaign intended to undermine the climate conference.[13] In response to the controversy, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released statements supporting the scientific consensus that the Earth's mean surface temperature had been rising for decades, with the AAAS concluding: "based on multiple lines of scientific evidence that global climate change caused by human activities is now underway... it is a growing threat to society".[14]
Eight committees investigated the allegations and published reports, finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct.[15] The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged throughout the investigations.[16]