Australia’s conservative Liberal-National Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dismissed a United Nations assessment that bushfires currently burning in the most populous state of New South Wales fires are linked to climate change.
In a rebuttal of statements made by the UN’s most senior climate officlal Mr Abbott also accused her of “talking through her hat”.
Yesterday, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, said the fires proved the world is “already paying the price of carbon”.
In an extensive interview on the United States news channel CNN Ms Figueres said, “The World Meteorological Organisation has not established the direct link between this wildfire and climate change yet, but what is absolutely clear is that the science is telling us there are increasing heatwaves in Asia, Europe and Australia.”
“These heatwaves will continue. They will continue in their intensity and in their frequency,” she said.
The UN climate chief said vision from the fires should prompt international concern on climate.
However, Mr Abbott argued today “fire is a part of the Australian experience” and not linked to climate change.
“The official in question is talking through her hat,” he told listeners to a Melbourne commercial radio station during an interview.
“Climate change is real, as I’ve often said, and we should take strong action against it.
“But these fires are certainly not a function of climate change, they’re just a function of life in Australia.”
Mr Abbott’s statements are opposed to those of numerous experts and scientists who said the link between global warming and bushfires had been established and it was time for action.
Ms Figueres also criticised the Liberal-National government’s Direct Action plan to tackle climate change as being potentially “much more expensive” than the carbon pricing scheme put in place by the previous Labor government.
Mr Abbott’s government is planning on repealing the current carbon price laws, although that could prove difficult as he does not have control of the upper house Senate, which can block any such move.
“They’re going to have to pay a very high political price and a very high financial price,” Ms Figueres said.
“The route that they are choosing to get to the same target that the previous government had could be much more expensive for them and for the Australian population.”
She said that the world had very little time to minimise the impact of climate change.
4 Responses
So is “Climate Change Still Crap” or aren’t the fires and climate extremes not happening??? An outstanding example of Criminal Ignorance!!!
At least Mr Rabit is doing something to repent and help fight fires that are likely to be caused by the long over due lack of action in regard to climate change. Shall we all bury our heads in the ashes and sack anyone who utters the truth as is the current program or say don’t politicise the issue??
The fires were now confirmed started by the Defence Dept Training with explosives! Nothing to do with the non existent Global warming…but you are all to chicken to call out the Government, even when they are admittedly at fault aren’t you?
With record winter ice cover in Antarctica and the Arctic proven by NASA – the predictive climate ‘modelling’ is now a proven fraud & if not – just completely wrong!!!!
So take out your buckets of sand once more, stick your heads snuggled right down the bottom – and while you are at it why don’t you leave your wallet in your back pocket…….that’s the way to be a good little compliant citizen…
So climate change is real but its effects are a fact of life – which is why we can safely ignore them.