Challenging “State of the Climate”

From “Clearing the Air on Climate” prepared by The Fair Farming Group: 

The March 2010 paper published by the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) entitled ‘State of the Climate’ has unfortunately muddied global warming issues rather than clarified them. As such, it regrettably fails to assist Australia’s farming community and other industries, business and individuals to make an informed judgement on the development of public policy. 

The CSIRO/BOM paper concludes: ‘Australia will be hotter in coming decades’; ‘Much of Australia will be drier in coming decades’; ‘Carbon dioxide generated by humans makes the ocean become more acidic’; ‘It is very likely that human activities have caused most of the global warming observed since 1950.’ 

The Fair Farming Group finds these statements by the CSIRO/BOM are not supported by available scientific evidence. The reasons for our conclusion are important. Their relevance cannot be overstated. 

Climate Change

To begin with, the statement in the CSIRO/BOM paper that “climate change is real” only reflects what is well known, that climate is always changing.  The statement accordingly is irrelevant to, and indeed directs attention away from, the real question which is whether carbon dioxide generated by human activity can cause dangerous global warming. 

Ocean “Acidity”

It is claimed that the oceans will become “more acidic” with higher carbon dioxide levels.  It is a scientific fact that the oceans are alkaline and contain minerals which buffer the ocean from becoming significantly less alkaline let alone turning acidic due to carbon dioxide. 

Global Warming

The claim by the CSIRO of greater than 90 percent certainty that man-made carbon dioxide threatens to increase global temperatures to dangerous levels is derived from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and is not supported by statistical analysis. Moreover, it is not supported by any analysis in the CSIRO/BOM paper which provides only a graph showing an increase in carbon dioxide emissions.  Without supporting analysis the statement has no value for development of policy. 

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Conclusion 

The CSIRO/BOM paper provides no evidence man-made carbon dioxide has in the past, or will in the future, cause dangerous global warming. 

Past records show there is no evidence of a dangerous cause and effect relationship between carbon dioxide and atmospheric temperature.

The simple proposition that man-made carbon dioxide determines increased global temperature fails a fundamental principle of science: that a cause must demonstrate a consistent effect.

There is no analysis to support the claim of greater than 90 percent certainty that man-made carbon dioxide threatens to increase global temperatures to dangerous levels. In fact, there is presently no evidence to show there is such a risk.

Methane levels have plateaued since the end of the twentieth century and therefore grazing animals and fugitive emissions from coal mines play no part in global warming.

The selective presentation of data by CSIRO/BOM does not provide the basis for objective analysis which is required to support a Climate Policy costing the Australian community billions of dollars. 

In the absence of sound science the case has not been made for the economic costs to agriculture and industry associated with an ETS. Nor is there a case for the $30 million in the 2010 Federal Budget for a “national campaign to educate the community on climate change”, if such a campaign reflected the standard of information in the CSIRO/BOM paper. This is particularly so at a time when there are urgent and competing requirements for national resources. 

Source: “Clearing the Air on Climate”. Download pdf here…