Australian Opposition all set to do the Gish Gallop*?

Having set the scene by treating the proposed carbon price mechanism guideline as a settled direct tax on Australian citizens (rather than a cost paid by polluting industries) the Australian Coalition Opposition, led by the Hon. Tony Abbott, now appears ready to reprise its attack on climate science underpinning the need for setting such a price:

I think there are increasing doubts about the proposition that anthropogenic emissions of C02 are causing global warming…….

Quoting a blog from an atmospheric scientist from the University of Alabama - who he did not name - Senator Minchin said: "It's clear that the models, and we're dealing with models, have grossly overestimated the sensitivity of temperature to increases in CO2.

"I think what's occurred is that there was a warming period from about '75 to the year 2000. It was part of a natural cycle of warming that comes in 25, 30-year cycles. The world has basically stabilised in terms of temperature since about 2000.

"There are many, many scientists who actually think we could be entering a cooling phase, and I for one think that is more than likely.

"We have stabilised in terms of world temperatures. There is a very powerful natural cycle at work, and if anything we're more likely to see a tendency down in global temperatures, rather than up."

Now the only atmospheric scientist I am familiar with at Alabama University is Professor John Christy and, as far as I can tell this academic (often characterized as a climate change sceptic) in his most recent evidence before a US House of Representatives sub-committee on 8 March 2011 does not actually say that the earth has entered a cooling period. Rather he holds that warming is occurring at a much lower rate than previously predicted and recent disastrous weather events cannot be attributed directly to global warming.

This appears to represent a small step back from his earlier evidence in 2000 based on dubious research co-authored with climate change contrarian and intelligent design believer Roy Spenser also from Alabama University. Nevertheless, Christy is still very much in the contrarian camp.

Interestingly, it is the more notorious Spencer who appears to have an identifiable blog.

*Gish Gallop