Category: Climate Change
The Finance and Expenditure Select Committee inquiry into the emissions trading scheme will be mainly concerned with examining the potential impact of envisaged climate change mitigation measures on the New Zealand economy and the future well-being of New Zealand citizens, as well as the likely effect of any ‘breaking-ranks’ on our diplomatic and trade relations. But it cannot avoid also addressing the extent to which the underlying scientific assessments are in doubt.
2008 was the coldest year this century. This is not an aberration as the global warming industry would have us believe. The world has been on a cooling trend since 1998 and there is now growing scientific evidence that governments around the world should plan for colder not warmer temperatures.[1] Yet, as is typical of emotion filled movements, it is hard to imagine cold hard facts getting in the way of the vested interests’ headlong rush towards costly and useless global warming taxation schemes – even here in New Zealand.
It is difficult to comprehend just how dark the economic clouds that are bearing down on New Zealand really are. The problem is, that with New Zealand going into recession early last year - well ahead of the global financial crisis - our economy was already on a downward track with little resilience to cope with such a massive international downturn.
Last Thursday, US President George Bush launched a vigorous defence of the free market, stating that the only long-term solution to the global financial crisis is sustained economic growth. He explained that the surest path to growth is the free market and free people:
The resolve in Europe to make meaningful emission reductions’ is crumbling by the day in the wake of the financial credit crunch sweeping the globe, bringing with it fears of a global economic recession.
In the year to August, 33,300 Kiwis packed their bags for Australia, the highest figure since 1989. That includes 2,900 in August alone. One particularly worrying aspect is that so many of those leaving New Zealand are young: 86 percent are under the age of 45 and the majority are under the age of 30.[1]
In an op-ed in a Polish weekly I commented recently on a remarkable decrease of global temperature in 2008, and over the past decade. Not surprisingly the op-ed evoked a strong reaction from Polish co-workers of IPCC, denying the existence of cooling. Surprising, however, was that the criticism dwelled upon a “global climatic conspiracy”, and “colossal international plot”. I did not use these words nor even hinted at such an idea. The idea was probably apparent from the data and facts I presented, showing weaknesses of the man-made global warming hypothesis. Without irrational political or ideological factors, it is really difficult to understand why so many people believe in human causation of the Modern Warm Period, which was never plausibly proved by scientific evidence. Some of these factors I will discuss here.
Earlier this month the Royal Society of New Zealand issued a special statement designed to clear up the “controversy over climate change” and “possible confusion among the public”. The statement from the Society’s Climate Committee asserts that “The globe is warming because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions” and that “human activities” are to blame.1. This statement reinforces the governments’ position that in order to prevent climate disaster, legislation must be passed to force the public to make personal sacrifices and reduce their consumption of energy.
I devoted six years to carbon accounting, building models for the Australian Greenhouse Office. I am the rocket scientist who wrote the carbon accounting model (FullCAM) that measures Australia’s compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, in the land use change and forestry sector. FullCAM models carbon flows in plants, mulch, debris, soils and agricultural products, using inputs such as climate data, plant physiology, and satellite data. I’ve been following the global warming debate closely for years.
As a youngster in a post war London I was brought up on lamb and anchor butter from New Zealand.
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