DEFINING DENIAL

"If the ‘deniers’ are the only ones standing up for the integrity of the scientific process, and the independence of the IPCC, then I too am a ‘denier’."

The comment was in response to the astonishing revelation that significant parts of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on renewable energy, the conclusions of which were all over the press a few days before, had been written by Greenpeace writes Simon Turnill at the Spectator website.

CARBON TAX TO COST $1 TRILLION

THE federal government's carbon tax will cost every Australian $40,000 in the period to 2050 and a cost-benefit analysis should be conducted before it passes into law, an opposition-dominated Senate committee says.

WILL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES BECOME THE CLIMATE PARIAHS?

Former deputy treasury secretary, Des Moore crunches more numbers and asks "Should we commit economic suicide for this?"

"The (supposed) emissions problem is rapidly becoming centred on developing countries. Indeed, if industrial countries were to slow their emissions growth somewhat (as current economic conditions suggest), developing countries would become the so-called polluters and the only ones that could solve the problem (sic). But as those countries are strongly resisting any binding agreement involving restrictions on their emissions, it is difficult to see any meaningful international agreement (as distinct from “pledges”) before 2020 that would restrict emissions."

QUESTIONS FOR THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

It was reported in the media last week that Australia's chief scientist, Professor Ian Chubb accepts the consensus view on climate change science and lamented that sceptics 'had elevated fiction to fact'.

Michael Kile writing at Quadrant Online has a few questions for the chief scientist.

LINK to article

MR GARNAUT, CLIMATE POLICY SHOULD BE QUESTIONED

Henry Ergas writing in The Australian queries why Professor Garnaut does not appreciate questioning of the need for climate policy action.

"ROSS Garnaut has an unusual concept of democracy. The Prime Minister goes to the country promising "there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead". Once in office, she then proposes to implement one, with the added twist of making repeal by a future government prohibitively costly. Yet, according to Garnaut, rejection of the government's proposed legislation would amount to a failure of Australian democracy on a historical scale, indeed to "a corruption of democracy" caused by "distortion of reality and abuse of truth".

LINK to article

DECLINE IN DEATHS FROM EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Indur Golkany and Julian Morris in an article published at the Science & Public Policy Institute debunk some of the alarmist claims about extreme weather events.

"Aggregate mortality attributed to all extreme weather events globally has declined by more than 90% since the 1920s, in spite of a four-fold rise in population and much more complete reporting of such events. The aggregate mortality rate declined by 98%, largely due to decreased mortality in three main areas."

LINK to article