Posts tagged…Emissions
Academy of alarm
Thu, Aug 19 2010
What does the Australian Academy of science think their role should be? To inform or to frighten? To elucidate public policy issues from a scientific viewpoint? Or to indulge themselves in scaremongering so unsupported by facts that it borders on irresponsible?
Their latest climate-alarm pamphlet contains appalling rubbish, including claims that the world will warm by up to 7° C in the next…
Read more…Feather duster ambush
Fri, Jul 23 2010Of course, the Labor party would not have needed to "back down" if it hadn't inflated the issue with worse-than-WMD hysteria, religious zeal (cf. Ross Garnaut's invocation of Pascal's wager) and contempt for contrary evidence.
"Julia Gillard has put the pretty wrapping paper of conviction and consensus around Kevin Rudd's emissions trading backdown. But inside it's the same poll-driven backdown."…
Revisiting the climate evidence
Tue, Jun 29 2010Julia Gillard's determination as Prime Minister to revisit the debate about an Australian response to the potential dangers of climate change calls for a review of the evidence to ensure that any response is proportionate and effective. In my view, the relevant data show less and less reason to attribute recent warming to human activities ('anthropogenic warming').
Simple deductions about climate change
Fri, Mar 05 2010The UK Met Office (which has been unable to predict British weather recently) now claims to be certain about climate.
"The fingerprint of human influence has been detected in many different aspects of observed climate changes,” said Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring at the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Research. “Natural variability, from the sun, volcanic eruptions or natural…
Discounting the Intergenerational Report
Fri, Feb 12 2010"[H]ow often does the IGR [Intergenerational Report], in five pages vaunting public investment in infrastructure, use the term 'cost benefit analysis'? Not once. Clearly, suggesting that public investment only be undertaken when the benefits exceed the costs is no longer politically correct." Extract from Henry Ergas in The AustralianHenry Ergas is—as ever—right on the money. The 2010 IGR has…
Monckton Lecture, Melbourne Feb 1, 2010
Thu, Jan 28 2010
A number of people have asked for these details:
Monday, 1 February 2010, 5:30 pm
Ballroom, Sofitel Hotel (25 Collins St Melbourne)
Entry by $20 'donation' at the door (no reservations).
Christopher, Viscount Monckton is a serious analyst and good fun: he has mastered the art of keeping it simple and exaggerating (a little bit). So I expect a big crowd, a great atmosphere and some clever,…
U.S. looks for a ‘critical mass’ climate deal
Fri, Jan 15 2010There is absolutely nothing new in U.S. exasperation with the United Nations and its overblown processes. This statement from the deputy U.S. climate envoy recalls the responses of thousands of technocrats exposed for the first time to the diplomatic morass; for decades, we've heard something similar from every new Administration.
"Pershing said the flaws in the UN process, which demands…
Lamy’s assessment of Copenhagen
Thu, Jan 14 2010It's called whistling in the wind.
"The outcome of the conference in Copenhagen represents a step forward. The Kyoto Protocol addresses about 30% of global carbon emissions. In contrast, the framework accord hammered out in Copenhagen last week may encompass the majority of world emissions. " Extract from WTO | 2009 News items - Lamy praises Copenhagen efforts, calls for more to be done
The…
Plurilateralism… get used to it
Sun, Dec 20 2009
Unless you've been asleep since the mid-1930s (when the League of Nations fell apart), the failures of the UN Climate Convention in Copenhagen or the World Trade Organization in Geneva to reach agreement should come as no surprise.
It's not the end of the world (or even of multilateralism) but it's an historic moment, all the same. I suspect it marks the iconic end of the pax atlantica; the…
Don’t tell the trees
Tue, Dec 08 2009Like the 'Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme', this is appalling twaddle. The main 'GHG', CO2, and the cycle of energy distribution that it mediates throughout the biosphere is essential to just about every form of life on earth.
"After a thorough examination of the scientific evidence and careful consideration of public comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that…
Why Australia should not adopt an ETS
Tue, Oct 13 2009The mainstream media offer us nothing but politics on the question of whether the proposed Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation should be adopted. Political calculation is less demanding for the journalists and offers readers an engaging melodrama. But the politics are no guide to a responsible decision on the ETS. In this post I review both the governments' stated reasons for the ETS and my…
The Emissisions Trading bill madness
Mon, Aug 10 2009The text of my email to all Victorian senators at the start of the week in which the bill comes to the Senate.
Dear Senator,
As a Victorian constitutent, I urge you to oppose the wasteful, ineffective "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme" legislation. There is no plausible case for concern about global warming which has been mild (0.5 deg per century since 1850s) and has presently stopped. The…