One of the largest scientific publishers in the world withdrew an article from a journal that claimed to have discovered no proof of a climate disaster.
Four Italian physicists' study was published by Springer Nature, but it was later withdrawn after an internal review revealed that the results were "not supported by the available evidence or data provided by the authors."
The study, which was published in the European Physical Journal Plus in January 2022—a publication not well recognized for publishing climate change science—was heavily touted by climate skeptic organizations.
Nine months later, the piece was uncritically carried on the front page of an Australian newspaper and pushed twice on Sky News Australia, which has been dubbed a global center for climate science denial. On YouTube, the portions have received over 500,000 views.
According to the paper, data analysis revealed no trends in extreme rainfall, floods, droughts, or food productivity.
According to observational data, the climate crisis that many sources claim "we are currently facing is not yet obvious," the report concluded.
Several climate experts complained that the piece was "selective and biassed," had "cherry-picked" facts and had misrepresented several scientific studies to the Guardian and then to the news agency AFP.
After these issues were brought forward, Springer Nature declared in October that it was looking into the paper.
Springer Nature released a statement in which it claimed that its editors had started a "thorough investigation" that included a post-publication review by subject-matter experts.
During the course of the inquiry, the article's writers also provided an addition to their initial work, according to the statement.
According to the magazine, "the editors and publishers concluded that they no longer had confidence in the results and conclusions of the article after careful consideration and consultation with all parties involved."
The withdrawal of the addendum was deemed to be the best course of action in order to preserve the integrity of the scientific record because it was not deemed fit for publication.
Concerns "regarding the selection of the data, the analysis, and the resulting conclusions of the article" were raised, according to a retraction letter that appears in the article.
The comment states that the article's conclusions "were not supported by the available evidence or data provided by the authors".