History Forum / General / Archaeology / July 2009

The following has just emerged from the Australian Senate. The
original papers behind the full report may be found at
<http://joannenova.com.au/global-warming/the-wong-fielding-meeting-on-global-warm
ing-documents/>
Particularly note the final paragraph below:

    "We add, with respect to (iii), that the scientific community is
    now so polarised on the controversial issue of dangerous global
    warming that proper due diligence on the matter can only be
    achieved where competent scientific witnesses are cross-examined
    under oath and under strict rules of evidence."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 "Minister Wong's Reply to Senator Fielding's Three Questions on
  Climate Change - Due Diligence

  Bob Carter, David Evans, Stewart Franks & William Kininmonth

  PREAMBLE

  Emissions trading legislation, such as the "Carbon Pollution  
  Reduction Scheme" (CPRS) bill that is currently before parliament,
  rests upon the assumption that human greenhouse emissions,
  especially carbon dioxide, (i) are pollutants, and (ii) are causing
  dangerous global warming. Neither of these assumptions is supported
  by empirical evidence, and both have been under scientific
  challenge for many years by a large body of qualified and
  independent scientists.

  Cognisant of these facts, Senator Steve Fielding has posed three
  direct questions to the Minister for Climate Change, Senator Penny
  Wong, in order to clarify whether or not evidence exists that human
  carbon dioxide emissions are causing dangerous global warming, as
  alleged by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  (IPCC).

  The Minister's replies to the Fielding questions drew heavily on
   IPCC arguments and advice. Parliament, in preparing to implement
   policy based upon the advice of an international political agency,
   has not hitherto had available to it a due diligence scientific
   assessment of the adequacy of the IPCC recommendations (Professor
   Garnaut's extensive report being an economic and not a scientific
   analysis). As independent scientists, and at the request of
   Senator Fielding, we provide preliminary scientific due diligence
   in this document.

  Our conclusions are:

  (i) that whilst recent increases in greenhouse gases play a minor
      radiative role in global climate, no strong evidence exists
      that human carbon dioxide emissions are causing, or are likely
      to cause, dangerous global warming;

  (ii) that it is unwise for government environmental policy to be
        set based upon monopoly advice, and especially so when that
        monopoly is represented by an international political (not
        scientific) agency; and

  (iii) that the results of implementing emissions trading
         legislation will be so costly, troublingly regressive,
         socially divisive and environmentally ineffective that
         Parliament should defer consideration of the CPRS bill and
         institute a fully independent Royal Commission of enquiry
         into the evidence for and against a dangerous human
         influence on climate.

    We add, with respect to (iii), that the scientific community is
    now so polarised on the controversial issue of dangerous global
    warming that proper due diligence on the matter can only be
    achieved where competent scientific witnesses are cross-examined
    under oath and under strict rules of evidence.

Eric Stevens