Why is there so much scepticism around climate change? And why does it continue to cause controversy among scientists? In 2009 the ‘Climategate’ news story, regarding stolen emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, became symbolic of public mistrust in climate science. In this audio, in the form of an open letter, The Open University’s Dr Joe Smith defends the science behind climate change and argues that “climate change is one of the challenges of the age. One that we will all be judged for”.