Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen

Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen was born in Dresden, East Germany.[2][5] In 1956, she moved to Adelaide, South Australia, where she obtained a BA with Honours in Geomorphology from Adelaide University while also studying climatology, geology, physical geography and German literature.[5][7][8][9] She moved again to England in 1969 and later attended the University of Sussex where she first obtained an MA followed by a DPhil in International Relations in 1981.[2][7][10] Her doctoral thesis was titled, Limits to the international control of marine pollution.[11]

Boehmer-Christiansen joined the Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex in 1985, working for a decade as a Research Fellow and then later as a visiting fellow.[2][8][12] Since the mid-1990s she had taught environmental policy, management and politics in the Geography Department at the University of Hull.[3][9] As an Emeritus Reader she still works from the University of Hull's Geography Department.[1][8]

She is a past member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future.[2][13]

When asked about the publication in the Spring of 2003 of a revised version of the paper at the center of the Soon and Baliunas controversy, Boehmer-Christiansen said, "I'm following my political agenda -- a bit, anyway. But isn't that the right of the editor?"[14]

Boehmer-Christiansen has been a critic of climate models saying they are based on data that cannot be verified.[15] In 2006, she signed an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to open the Kyoto Protocol to debate by holding balanced, comprehensive public-consultation sessions on the Canadian government's climate change plans.[16]

She describes herself as agnostic on whether humans are causing global warming, and believes its negative aspects to be politically exaggerated.[17]

According to Fred Pearce, Boehmer-Christiansen is a sceptic about acid rain and global warming and calls the science reports produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "political constructs."[18]

The Guardian reported that Boehmer-Christiansen published – against the recommendations of a reviewer – a paper in Energy & Environment claiming that the Sun is made of iron.[19][20]

Books

• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja; Skea, Jim (1991). Acid politics: Environmental and energy policies in Britain and Germany. Belhaven Press. ISBN 978-1852931162. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja; Weidner, Helmut (1995). The politics of reducing vehicle emissions in Britain and Germany. London and Madison. ISBN 978-1855672031. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja; Kellow, Aynsley J. (2002). International Environmental Policy: Interests and the Failure of the Kyoto Process. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1840648188.

Journal articles

• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (January 1982). "The scientific basis of marine pollution control". Marine Policy. 6 (1): 2–10. doi:10.1016/0308-597X(82)90038-0.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (1997). "A winning coalition of advocacy: climate research, bureaucracy and 'alternative' fuels: Who is driving climate change policy?". Energy Policy. 25 (4): 439–444. doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(97)00016-5.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (2002). "The geo-politics of sustainable development: bureaucracies and politicians in search of the holy grail". Geoforum. 33 (3): 351–365. doi:10.1016/S0016-7185(02)00018-0.
• Boehmer-Christiansen, Sonja (2003). "Science, Equity, and the War against Carbon". Science, Technology, & Human Values. 28 (1): 69–92. doi:10.1177/0162243902238496. S2CID 153759038.

• Marine pollution

• What inspired you? – Dr Sonja A Boehmer-Christiansen
• Key challenges for the next generation – Dr Sonja A Boehmer-Christiansen