Climate change denialists: practising to deceive?

The Daily Telegraph journalist/blogger, Tim Blair, is at it again with another misleading global warming denialist post on July 10, titled Go India .

Penny Wong’s theory:
Senator Wong said unless developed countries like Australia demonstrated leadership, developing countries would not commit to the required reductions in greenhouse pollution.
Reality:
India issued its National Action Plan on Climate Change in June 2008 disputing man-made global warming fears and declared the country of one billion people had no intention of stopping its energy growth or cutting back its CO2 emissions ...
The report declared: “No firm link between the documented [climate] changes described below and warming due to anthropogenic climate change has yet been established.”
The report made clear that India has no plans to cut back energy usage. “It is obvious that India needs to substantially increase its per capita energy consumption to provide a minimally acceptable level of wellbeing to its people.”
(Via Marc Morano)

Sounds good, doesn't it? However there is one small problem - this is a very simplistic rendition of India's position on climate change (the title of its action plan should have given Tim the hint) and not how other sections of the international and Indian media see the situation.

From EcoWorldly:

The PM further reinstated India’s stand on this global issue, in confirmation with the world view by informing that India believes that every citizen of this planet should have an equal share of the planetary atmospheric space and therefore, long-term convergence of per capita GHG emissions was the only equitable basis for a global agreement to tackle climate change. In this context, Dr. Singh reaffirmed India’s pledge that as it pursued sustainable development, its per capita GHG emissions would not exceed the per capita GHG emissions of developed countries, despite India’s developmental imperatives.
The PM also clarified that the National Action Plan would evolve and change in the light of changing circumstances and therefore invited broader interaction with civil society as a means to further improve the various elements of the Plan. He concluded by recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s advice: “The earth has enough resources to meet the needs of people, but will never have enough to serve their greed”.

And in the India Times:

Explaining the importance of the Indian position, which was first stated by the prime minister at last year's G8 summit in Germany, Saran said: "India has said that at no point will its own per capita emissions exceed that of developed countries.
"Now this is a huge contribution by India to the entire climate change debate. Because, number one, it answers the criticism that while India is asking others to limit and reduce their emissions, what is India prepared to do? Well, India is prepared to accept the limitation on its per capita emissions.

And yet again from The Financial Times:

Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister, on Monday vowed to combat climate change by focusing on renewable energy as he unveiled the country’s long-awaited policy on global warming. However, he stopped short of setting targets for reducing greenhouse gases.
The “national action plan” outlines an eight-point strategy that seeks to sustain rapid economic growth of 9 per cent while addressing the global threat of climate change.

One last example from the Indian Business Standard...

The new point in the action plan is that it proposes sector-wise benchmarks and does its own version of domestic carbon credit trade. It also proposes caps on energy use in polluting sectors, such as thermal power, cement, fertiliser and iron and steel. Going further, it provides for retirement of certain categories of old and inefficient coal-based power plants and phasing out of end-of-life vehicles with the mandatory obligation on the last owners to hand them over at designated collection centres.

Indian Prime Minister's press release of 30 June 2008:

Prime Minister emphasized the global dimension of the challenge of climate change, which demands a global and cooperative effort on the basis of the principle of equity. India, he said, was ready to play its role as a responsible member of the international community and to make its own contribution.

So it appears that India does in fact have plans to cap its greenhouse gas emissions. The situation is not quite as black and white as Mr. Blair implies.

A bit of background from ResponseNet in October last year:

Despite being the world's second most populous country and fourth largest economy, India's CO2 emissions is still only one-fifth that of the U.S. or China. Unlike in other countries, India's carbon intensity did not rise as economic growth accelerated in the last decade. So how should India be treated in the global dialogue on climate change?

The question Tim Blair needs to ask himself is - when does having a consistent position on an issue begin to turn into an effort to deceive?

India's National Action Plan on Climate Change is here.

O to be a pilgrim

Now the Catholic Church has issued an urgent appeal for donations of blankets and winter clothing to warm pilgrims to its Sydney World Youth Day 2008 events this month.
Have I missed something here? This isn't the first such international event, so the Church should have been able to anticipate this need arising.
Could it be that Cardinal Pell was simply too mean to fork out church funds for these items?
Are Bene and George just trying to screw more out of the populace?
Fair crack of the whip, boys - you've already had over $80 million in cash and kind from the Australian taxpayer.
Time to put your hand in your own pockets and draw out the readies for these 'pilgrims'.
In case you hadn't noticed, there are also plenty of Aussies who have few blankets and warm clothes to make it through winter, as well as lacking money to afford any form of international travel.
World Youth Day is providing one PR blunder after another.

World Youth Day 2008 - nobody's happy

Eureka Steet, a publication of Jesuit Communications Australia reported on the opinion of Frank Brennan SJ AO, a professor of law in the Institute of Legal Studies at the Australian Catholic University and Professorial Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of NSW.

The NSW Government's controversial Amendment to the World Youth Day Act is a dreadful interference with civil liberties, and contrary to the spirit of Catholic Social Teaching on human rights.
As an Australian Catholic lawyer, I am saddened that the state has seen fit to curtail civil liberties further in this instance than they have for other significant international events hosted in Sydney.

The president of the Bar Association, Anna Katzmann SC, has this to say in an SMH letter to the editor.

On its face this law threatens basic civil rights. Moreover, it is bad law to criminalize conduct by regulation and so avoid the level of parliamentary and public scrutiny that attends an act of parliament.

It seems that New South Wales is paying out around $86 million dollars for the dubious privilege of having our human rights extinguished in over 600 locations within the Sydney area for the entire period of World Youth Day events.

Will Morris Iemma pass the collection plate when (not if) this religious event fails to do more than break even financially? The hints that all may not be well are already surfacing in relation to 'pilgrim' numbers.

Last Monday The West Australian raised the possibility of a WYD backlash.

Australian Catholics are treated far more tolerantly today than they were 50 or 100 years ago. But the Church is pushing its luck. It now risks a backlash after the Catholic-dominated NSW Labor Government made it a criminal offence to do anything which “causes annoyance or inconvenience to participants in World (Catholic) Youth Day”....
Unless he wants to resurrect sectarian tensions, Cardinal Pell should support the immediate repeal of the repressive new law and pay a much bigger share of the costs.

Somehow I think the damage has already been done if Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Greg Craven's rant is any indication.

JUDGING by the fulminations in Sydney against World Youth Day, Benedict XVI may soon become the first pontiff in living memory to paraphrase Mae West. "Is that bigotry in your pocket, or are you just not glad to see me?"

The vice-chancellor likes to think of these draconian regulations as "an unsolicited gift from the State Government."
Sister Mary Clement would have put him in the naughty corner for playing with the truth in this way.

World Youth Day Amendment Regulation 2008 here.

It's breeding season on the NSW North Coast for one little shore bird

Image from Flickr

It's breeding season for the Pied Oyster Catcher, one of the NSW North Coast's feathered treasures.

The Far North Coaster online magazine reports:

The Pied Oyster Catcher is one of five resident non-migratory shore birds, with an estimated remaining population of 250 individuals in NSW...
Beach users from Ballina south to Evans Head have been urged to take extra care during the Pied Oyster Catcher breeding season.
General Manager of the Department of Lands, Graham Harding, has announced that the bird’s breeding season of the has commenced and urged drivers to take care on the beaches south of Ballina.
Mr Harding said the Pied Oyster Catcher breeding season extends from July though to December.
“I urge people driving on the beaches between South Ballina and Evans Head to adhere to the maximum legal speed limit, which is 30km per hour,” he said.
“There is signage on display at each beach entry point to advise this limit.
“The 30km per hour speed limit is part of the strategy adopted by the Department of Lands to help protect the Pied Oyster Catcher especially during their breeding season.

Political pettiness personified (a three-word alliterative phrase)

With so many portentous and 'diabolical' issues facing Aussies today, here's what one Liberal bright spark thought was worth the breath to cool his porridge during Question Time on the day before the House recessed for 8 weeks until the 25th of August.
It's hard to believe this peevish nitpicking is a dinkum way to earn your wage.

Christopher Pearce (Aston, Liberal Party) Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the fact that today in question time, and indeed for most of this week, almost without exception when the Prime Minister has been at the dispatch box he has leant on the dispatch box and turned his back on you. Mr Speaker, my question is: do you consider that to be parliamentary and are you happy with the Prime Minister having his back to you most of the time?
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) The Prime Minister refers his remarks through the chair, and that is the main thing that I look for.

Open Australia has some interesting stats on this very average MP.

"Has spoken in 27 debates in the last year — average amongst MPs.
People have made 0 comments on this MP's speeches — well above average amongst MPs.
This MP's speeches are understandable to an average 18–19 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score.
0 people are tracking whenever this MP speaks — email me whenever Christopher Pearce speaks.
Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 56 times in debates — average amongst MPs. (Why is this here?)"

Still, Chris rates a little better than North Coast Nationals MP for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker.
Although Luke has spoken in many more debates, his speeches are only "understandable to an average 16–17 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score." and he's "used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 87 times in debates — above average amongst MPs."

Quote of the Week from the Labor Push

Sometimes even stating the bl**dy obvious can produce a smile, when it involves the main architects of that planned sell-off of NSW power industry assets.

From Andrew Clennell and Andrew West reporting in The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday.

One senior union official, who holds a key position in the ALP, said: "The reason Costa has blown his top is that he knows that if Morris falls over, then he [Costa] is finished. Costa and Iemma are joined at the bloody hip."

Treasurer Michael Costa appears to be going that extra mile in an effort to dynamite any slim chance Labor may have had at the next state election.

He continues to be as juvenile today as this pic from the past at Workers Online.

Costa is fast earning my nomination for Nong of the Year 2008.
Although he runs a close second to Morris Iemma himself for ever listening to this unpredicatable political catherine wheel.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda as the land dried up and drifted away

Below are the fine words signifying nothing which Prime Minister Rudd put our name to yesterday.

However, the Rudd Government is still streets ahead of  the Coalition on climate change, as former Howard Government ministers use the current global crisis to play politics and jockey for power within their own parties.

Their hypocrisy appears to know no bounds as shadow ministers like Malcolm Turnbull spin former Howard Government policy on a full 360 degree axis in an effort to score and pander to populist positions or vested interests with regard to fuel emissions and the Murray-Darling Basin.

 

Text of G8 statement:

 

We, the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States met as the world's major economies in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on 9 July, 2008, and declare as follows:

1. Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our time. Conscious of our leadership role in meeting such challenges, we, the leaders of the world's major economies, both developed and developing, commit to combat climate change in accordance with our common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and confront the interlinked challenges of sustainable development, including energy and food security, and human health. We have come together to contribute to efforts under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the global forum for climate negotiations. Our contribution and cooperation are rooted in the objective, provisions, and principles of the Convention.

2. We welcome decisions taken by the international community in Bali, including to launch a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective, and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to, and beyond 2012, in order to reach an agreed outcome in December 2009. Recognising the scale and urgency of the challenge, we will continue working together to strengthen implementation of the Convention and to ensure that the agreed outcome maximises the efforts of all nations and contributes to achieving the ultimate objective in Article 2 of the Convention, which should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

3. The Major Economies Meetings constructively contribute to the Bali process in several ways:

* First, our dialogue at political, policy, and technical levels has built confidence among our nations and deepened mutual understanding of the many challenges confronting the world community as we consider next steps under the Convention and continue to mobilise political will to combat global climate change.

* Second, without prejudging outcomes or the views of other nations, we believe that the common understandings in this Declaration will help advance the work of the international community so it is possible to reach an agreed outcome by the end of 2009.

* Third, recognizing the need for urgent action and the Bali Action Plan's directive for enhanced implementation of the Convention between now and 2012, we commit to taking the actions in paragraph 10 without delay.

4. We support a shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions, that assures growth, prosperity, and other aspects of sustainable development, including major efforts towards sustainable consumption and production, all aimed at achieving a low carbon society. Taking account of the science, we recognize that deep cuts in global emissions will be necessary to achieve the Convention's ultimate objective, and that adaptation will play a correspondingly vital role. We believe that it would be desirable for the Parties to adopt in the negotiations under the Convention a long-term global goal for reducing global emissions, taking into account the principle of equity. We urge that serious consideration be given in particular to ambitious IPCC scenarios. Significant progress toward a long-term global goal will be made by increasing financing of the broad deployment of existing technologies and best practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.ate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.ate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.ate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.

5. Taking into account assessments of science, technology, and economics, we recognize the essential importance of enhanced greenhouse gas mitigation that is ambitious, realistic, and achievable. We will do more -- we will continue to improve our policies and our performance while meeting other priority objectives -- in keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Achieving our long-term global goal requires respective mid-term goals, commitments and actions, to be reflected in the agreed outcome of the Bali Action Plan, taking into account differences in social and economic conditions, energy mix, demographics, and infrastructure among other factors, and the above IPCC scenarios. In this regard, the developed major economies will implement, consistent with international obligations, economy-wide mid-term goals and take corresponding actions in order to achieve absolute emission reductions and, where applicable, first stop the growth of emissions as soon as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions. on as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions. on as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions. on as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions.We, the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States met as the world's major economies in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on 9 July, 2008, and declare as follows:

1. Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our time. Conscious of our leadership role in meeting such challenges, we, the leaders of the world's major economies, both developed and developing, commit to combat climate change in accordance with our common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and confront the interlinked challenges of sustainable development, including energy and food security, and human health. We have come together to contribute to efforts under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the global forum for climate negotiations. Our contribution and cooperation are rooted in the objective, provisions, and principles of the Convention.

2. We welcome decisions taken by the international community in Bali, including to launch a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective, and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to, and beyond 2012, in order to reach an agreed outcome in December 2009. Recognising the scale and urgency of the challenge, we will continue working together to strengthen implementation of the Convention and to ensure that the agreed outcome maximises the efforts of all nations and contributes to achieving the ultimate objective in Article 2 of the Convention, which should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

3. The Major Economies Meetings constructively contribute to the Bali process in several ways:

* First, our dialogue at political, policy, and technical levels has built confidence among our nations and deepened mutual understanding of the many challenges confronting the world community as we consider next steps under the Convention and continue to mobilise political will to combat global climate change.

* Second, without prejudging outcomes or the views of other nations, we believe that the common understandings in this Declaration will help advance the work of the international community so it is possible to reach an agreed outcome by the end of 2009.

* Third, recognizing the need for urgent action and the Bali Action Plan's directive for enhanced implementation of the Convention between now and 2012, we commit to taking the actions in paragraph 10 without delay.

4. We support a shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions, that assures growth, prosperity, and other aspects of sustainable development, including major efforts towards sustainable consumption and production, all aimed at achieving a low carbon society. Taking account of the science, we recognize that deep cuts in global emissions will be necessary to achieve the Convention's ultimate objective, and that adaptation will play a correspondingly vital role. We believe that it would be desirable for the Parties to adopt in the negotiations under the Convention a long-term global goal for reducing global emissions, taking into account the principle of equity. We urge that serious consideration be given in particular to ambitious IPCC scenarios. Significant progress toward a long-term global goal will be made by increasing financing of the broad deployment of existing technologies and best practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.ate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.ate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.ate resilience. However, our ability ultimately to achieve a long-term global goal will also depend on affordable, new, more advanced, and innovative technologies, infrastructure, and practices that transform the way we live, produce and use energy, and manage land.

5. Taking into account assessments of science, technology, and economics, we recognize the essential importance of enhanced greenhouse gas mitigation that is ambitious, realistic, and achievable. We will do more -- we will continue to improve our policies and our performance while meeting other priority objectives -- in keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Achieving our long-term global goal requires respective mid-term goals, commitments and actions, to be reflected in the agreed outcome of the Bali Action Plan, taking into account differences in social and economic conditions, energy mix, demographics, and infrastructure among other factors, and the above IPCC scenarios. In this regard, the developed major economies will implement, consistent with international obligations, economy-wide mid-term goals and take corresponding actions in order to achieve absolute emission reductions and, where applicable, first stop the growth of emissions as soon as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions. on as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions. on as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions. on as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among them. At the same time, the developing major economies will pursue, in the context of sustainable development, nationally appropriate mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, with a view to achieving a deviation from business as usual emissions.