Dump emissions trading now Media Release February 9th 2010

“The declining credibility of the UN’s science on climate should send a signal to the Rudd government that it’s time to fundamentally reconsider its approach to climate policy” said Alex Stuart, chairman of the Australian Environment Foundation.

“This week, the government will re-introduce its misnamed, over-complex and deeply-flawed emissions trading scheme into parliament.  Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong should realise that it is already dead on arrival and they should simply dump it.  The notion of suffering huge economic costs, including the decimation of some industries, to solve a problem that is yet to be proven, simply makes no sense and never did.”

Stuart’s comments came in the context of a growing scandal surrounding the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that is undermining not only the credibility of the organisation, but also its narrative about man-made global warming. 

Hard on the heels of the Climategate scandal in November at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit, which called into question the credibility of the temperature record on which the UN body relies; and the slow-motion fiasco of the Copenhagen conference in December, come yet more climate problems for the UN. 

An unending series of scandals of propaganda masquerading as “peer-reviewed science” in the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report of 2007 have now been exposed.  First came Glaciergate, in which the threat to Himalayan glaciers was grossly exaggerated. Then came Disastergate, which misrepresented extreme weather events as caused by man-made CO2.  Next, came Amazongate, where an imaginary threat to the South American rainforest from CO2 has been exaggerated by deceptive substitution of facts.  Now Poldergate, which revealed that IPCC wildly overstated the area of Netherlands below sea level, has been followed by Polarbeargate, Africanfarmgate and - most damaging of all – UHIgate, which revealed apparent fraud in the foundations of all IPCC temperature reporting. 

These scandals of science are rapidly eroding the authority of the UN’s IPCC, and its chairman, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, is under mounting pressure to resign or be fired.

Stuart concluded that, instead of dwelling on remote and perhaps imaginary possibilities of catastrophe, the Rudd government should focus on real threats to Australia from weather events of today, like drought, floods, cyclones and bushfires.  That would constitute a real policy on climate, one that delivers real benefits to the living of today, rather than incurring vast costs now to provide imaginary benefits to future generations.

Less than half of Australians support an ETS Media Release January 19th 2010

An on-going survey of attitudes by Roy Morgan Research shows a continuing downward trend in support for global warming theory and an Emissions Trading Scheme [ETS] in Australia.

The latest survey released last week shows fewer than half of those surveyed support an ETS, only 46 percent of people support its introduction, down from 55 percent only three months ago.

This finding coincides with an increasing scepticism about global warming concepts, with 31 percent of respondents saying “Global warming concerns are exaggerated”, compared with only 13 percent who had this view three years ago.

The report did show that just over half, 54 percent of respondents, thought “If we do not act now it will be too late”, but this number had fallen from an earlier 67 percent.
“The lack of direct observational evidence of man-made warming driven by carbon dioxide is becoming clearer to ordinary Australians” said Alex Stuart, chairman of the Australian Environment Foundation.

“This and a number of other polls show a continuing and increasing scepticism amongst the Australian people over claims of an impending global warming catastrophe. They reflect a trend already apparent in the United States and the United Kingdom, where a majority of people simply no longer believe the projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC].”

Reports earlier this week showed IPCC relied on a prominently-featured prediction in 2005 on a World Wide Fund for Nature report that Himalayan glaciers would disappear by 2035. It turns out the WWF report was based on a speculative comment over the telephone by an Indian glaciologist who had not conducted any research to back his claims – not on peer-reviewed published research as required.

“AEF has been opposed to the ETS from its inception on the basis it would have no effect whatever on the climate, or on temperature, or the environment, nor would it provide a foundation for a much -needed policy on real issues of climate.”

“Now the majority of Australians oppose the Rudd government’s response to climate change. It’s time to think again Mr Rudd” said Mr Stuart.
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Roy Morgan poll

Senate has voted in the national interest Media Release December 2nd 2009

The Australian Environment Foundation [AEF] today applauded the senate vote against the legislation to introduce a flawed emissions trading scheme that will have no measurable benefit to the environment.

“This costly scheme is nothing more than a tax on energy that will make Australians poorer” said Alex Stuart, chairman of the AEF.

“The AEF is on the public record as opposed to this scheme from day one.  We initiated the first on-line petition to try and inform ordinary Australians that the proposed ETS would not provide real benefits to them and their families.”

A Galaxy Research poll released last week showed that 80 per cent of Australians believe they do not have enough information about the effects of the ETS legislation, whilst 54 per cent do not believe that Australia should pass legislation ahead of the Copenhagen summit.

An alternative climate policy foreshadowed by the Opposition would allow for an informed public debate on the effects of the government’s proposed scheme.

“The fact that global temperatures have been declining in spite of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide calls into question the veracity of the science on which this legislation is based and at the very least, further examination is required.”

“This unseemly rush to pass a flawed scheme that has already been modified many times is not in the national interest.”

“Given that most Australian emissions are the result of coal fired power stations the government could foster an informed public debate on nuclear energy if it was really serious about reducing carbon dioxide emissions” concluded Mr Stuart.

The Australian advertisement Tues June 9th

The Australian Environment Foundation has placed an advertisement in The Australian newspaper to further publicise the ListenToUs online petition and Senator e-postcards.  The background theme of the advertisement is John Brignell's Warmlist which can be viewed at his website here

Every link on his Warmlist web page is an article of something attributed to 'global warming' at the rate of 0.006C per year.

We commend John for his efforts in highlighting the silliness of many of the claims about man-made global warming.  Unfortunately this silliness has now transformed into an agenda of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 'save the planet'.

The Emissions Trading Scheme legislation is on its way to the Senate.  Sign the petition and send an e-postcard to senators in your state now to stop this silliness before it becomes law!

Fossil fuels fail to explain atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

Chair of the Australian Environment Foundation, Jennifer Marohasy, today welcomed new research by Australian physicist, Dr Tom Quirk, suggesting natural environmental forces, more than just fossil fuel emissions, could be contributing to the elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide [CO2].

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Muzzled Australians gain a voice on ETS

Written by Jennifer Marohasy Wednesday, 18 February 2009 00:50

 
The Australian Environment Foundation today launched an online petition opposing the federal government's "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme". The petition will eventually be presented to Parliament by Dr Dennis Jensen, MHR for Tangney.

AEF Chair Dr Jennifer Marohasy said there is a strong need for the petition because none of the major political parties are offering an alternative to carbon trading.

"To quote John from Cheltenham, Victoria, one of the early signatories, 'At last a chance to protest, a chance to be heard, a chance for the millions of Australians who have not fallen for this propaganda to speak out'."

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