How many things can Lord Deben get wrong?

ABC Drum, Jo Nova, PhotoI did a spot on the ABC Drum today. Very odd to do it from a studio where I could not see any of the panel at all, and didn’t know the etiquette of how these things work. (I know a lot more now). But I’m glad to have a chance to speak, even if it was short.

So just in case there is anyone out there thinking that Lord Deben had some good points, here’ s what I was thinking as he spoke without pausing to breathe, and here’s my reply (it would have been nice to say it on air):

Firstly, all of this presupposes that there is a reason to reduce CO2. Thousands of scientists and millions of measurements suggest not.

That aside, saying Australia is “not a special case” is to deny geography and demographics.

The UK might have the fastest growth rate in the EU but Australia’s population growth rate is two-to-three times faster than the UK.  Do those people count? Not in climate change maths. Australia’s population has grown by 38% since 1990. It’s massive and it matters.

Adding more wind power won’t help solve the problem that on our Eastern National Grid, about once every ten days or so the wind towers contribute nothing. More towers on the same grid only makes for more wild swings: 3,000 MW one day, nothing the next. We have to have the coal or gas back up, and wind can’t replace it.

Nor can Lord Deben add a mountain range and large rivers to an ancient flat land that doesn’t have them. Other nations doing “renewables” like Norway and China can do hydro power. Without adding another Great Dividing Range, we can’t.  And politically, thanks to the Greens and Labor Party, we won’t consider nuclear, which is how France meets its renewable targets.

As for China, its efforts are just token. They are producing massive emissions, adding new coal stations, planning even more, and it isn’t just because they are making the “world’s products” that they produce large emissions. It turns out they are also hopelessly inefficient. For every kilo of product made, they produce four times as much CO2 as factories in the EU would produce. So shipping our jobs and our factories to China would be making the problem worse, (if there was a problem). And they may well promise big cuts in future, but how much of that is due to them inflating their emissions right now? How easy would it be for them to artificially pump up the numbers now, and can anyone trust any of the figures coming out of China? (I have two posts coming up on exactly these points).

Deben said he likes Australia but spends most of his time unfairly putting the nation down trying to give us the guilts in the hope of getting us to cough up more money to support the Green industry. He claimed that Australia wasn’t pulling its weight at Kyoto, but he ignores the fact that we actually met our targets and most of the countries that promised to do more than us, didn’t. Per capita we cut our carbon emissions by 28% from 1990 to 2014 – and that includes us gaining 38% more people. That’s really spectacular (not that I think it was useful, worthwhile, or “an achievement” in any sense).

As for us being more “vulnerable” to climate change — they say that to everyone. All nations are more vulnerable than every other nation, it just depends on which nation the UN is trying to scare some money from this particular minute, doesn’t it? (See this map of countries most at risk? Australia isn’t one of them).

Deben pulled the “science is settled” excuse, which is always what someone says when they really don’t want a debate about the science. Climate science is immature, and thousands of scientists are protesting around the world: go online and find them. Thirty thousand scientists have put their names to a petition protesting at this exaggerated scare, that includes 9,000 PhD’s, astrophysicists, nuclear chemists, atmospheric scientists, meteorologists, and thousands of geologists and engineers. It also includes two guys who won Nobels in Physics, and three men who walked on the moon. Those guys have reputations that matter. They certainly know a lot more about climate science than Lord Deben.

If Lord Deben was really concerned about the environment, he would want the best science and open public debate.

You can watch it (though the Deben arguments are the same-old-same-old tedium) Deben runs from 2:00 – 8:40. I speak from 8:50 – 10:30, he replies from then to 13:00. Yes, typical mainstream media “time-share”. There are a few more bits after that like from 17:25.

If the ABC Drum got some real interchange, with to and fro, and live debate going, its ratings would probably double. A TV in the studio with the show on (muted) would be a helpful thing.

 

 

8.9 out of 10 based on 144 ratings

200 comments to How many things can Lord Deben get wrong?

  • #
    Malcolm Hill

    By accident I saw the interview with Lord Deben on the Drum and whilst some of it was interesting it was pretty obvious what the purpose of his to Australia was about.namely

    1. A big suck up to Turnbull.
    2. A plug for Flannery ….now he as really getting desparate.
    3. Show to us what a real alarmist drama queen he really is.
    4. Give the appearances of knowing some facts about GW by trotting out the usual twisted shibboleths.
    5 put pressure on Turnbull a Bishop and crew re the looming Paris shindig.

    If the Coalition changes its stance it will lose votes big time

    Tell the garrulous Lord to piss off.

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  • #
    KinkyKeith

    We need to get out of the UN.

    It is too big a distraction for politicians whose dream is to be “The Rep” on the floor of the UN and it does nothing useful when the chips are down.

    A brave act Jo to go on The Drum.

    I don’t watch anything on Mals and Julies ABC.

    KK

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    • #
      John

      Read the UN charter and understand its from a distant era. It’s filled with ideals but lacks insights. Tragically, member states bring nothing insightful to the table. That is the failed aspect of what could be insightful!

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      • #
        Dennis

        One point regarding the formation of the UN that many or most seem not to know is the opinion provided by the far-left Australian ALP Attorney general Evatt who advised his UN based comrades that encouraging member nations to sign as many treaties spanning as many situations as possible would be helpful. It would be helpful if or when the UN one world order agenda has stalled because the citizens of nations rejected that agenda.

        Governments could use the treaties or a treaty to get around a nation’s sovereign laws.

        Former Prime Minister John Howard was once asked by a journalist if international laws could be enforced in Australia. The answer was only if an Australian Government allowed it.

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  • #
    John B

    We in Britain are well used to the drama queen Lord Deben spouting nonsense. The most odious character who has ever graced our screens. What many in Australia may not know, but will be no surprise I’m sure, is that Deben is up to his armpits in the renewables scam and is well rewarded for his work for several renewable companies.

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    • #
      Bulldust

      And why are such things not declared before allowing him to speak on the public broadcaster?

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      • #
        Bulldust

        Or put another way, if they had someone commenting with coal mine interests… Do you think they’d omit mentioning the fact?

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        • #
          KinkyKeith

          I recall reading a news piece, maybe on here, about the English PM’s father in law.

          Obviously well off, had leased part of his estate to a wind-farm

          The daily income mentioned for doing his bit to “reduce” CO2 for the future of the planet

          WOULD ASTOUND YOU.

          Does anybody recall the detail?

          KK

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          • #
            KinkyKeith

            Thanks to the news source:

            “David Cameron’s wealthy father-in-law is making almost £350,000 a year from a publicly-subsidised wind farm on his country estate.

            Sir Reginald Sheffield, who is said to be worth £20million, earns the sum in ‘rent’ from the consortium behind the farm – just for having the turbines on his land.

            The 65-year-old calls it a ‘modest’ fraction of the estimated £3.5million the eight 400ft-high turbines generate each year.

            Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027708/Samantha-Camerons-father-nets-350-000-year-subsidised-wind-farm.html#ixzz3npuq0qbN

            KK

            As Annie said earlier:

            makes you want to puke

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            • #
              KinkyKeith

              That is what it is ALL about.

              The Power and the Glory.

              Screw the dumb taxpayer.

              Forever and ever.

              Amen. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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              • #
                Bulldust

                It was ever thus.

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              • #
                KinkyKeith

                The latest Spectator offering; Tristan of course wants to be paid ;see paywall.

                ‘Hunt: Paris is just the start of bigger emission cuts’

                Tristan Edis

                ‘But a Coalition civil war on climate could be looming”.

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          • #
            John B

            Wrong person, I think you are referring to David Cameron’s father in law.

            10

            • #
              KinkyKeith

              Sorry

              Isn’t David Cameron the English PM?

              If not my mistake.

              Point was that a well known English polie has a relative who is bleeding power users in England bone dry by having them subsidise his “contribution’ to the environment.

              🙂

              KK

              20

    • #
      John

      JohnB,
      The issue is simplistic! Put your bean counter hat on, the cost to mine all resources is now equated by international market valuation.

      The issue is to retain the resources for future benefits.

      Australia needs to be self sufficient or it will fail!

      30

    • #
      Egor TheOne

      You cannot demolish a religion !!!
      Even with real facts and proper science !

      If you could then it would be a mass round up of criminals and fraudsters at the upcoming Paris Marxist Convention , who are scheming how to steal our rights , freedoms and wealth !

      However ,i still hope that this upcoming Paris disgrace will be the ‘Last Hoorah’ of these Medieval PitchForkers and Climate Fraudsters !

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9bEOB3x0dQ

      https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/–tpvpQIiP84/Ux9U3FuXBbI/AAAAAAABDpE/A616Oa6CVSQ/w381-h284/globe.jpg

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  • #
    AndyG55

    As I posted the other day

    There will be plenty of atmospheric CO2 for a long long time to come.

    CO2 India ! https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/indias-climate-plan-will-triple-emissions-by-2030/

    CO2 Holland https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/netherlands-massively-increasing-their-coal-capacity/

    CO2 Germany (continuing to grow their lignite burning)

    CO2 Japan (43 new coal fired plants planned or being built)

    CO2 Turkey…. http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/turkey-double-coal-capacity-four-years-314706

    CO2 China (massive increase for at least another 15 years ,, with Obama approval, of course)

    CO2 Indonesia (just over taken Australia in coal production in 2013)

    CO2 Vietnam http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=22332

    CO2 Kazakhstan http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2787951
    “”Kazakhstan is currently seventh in the world in terms of coal reserves. This means that there is enough coal to last us around 300 years at current rates of production”

    CO2 Global http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/pressreleases/2014/december/global-coal-demand-to-reach-9-billion-tonnes-per-year-by-2019.html

    and many, many, many others.

    I suspect the African countries will be a large future fossil fuel boom in the near future as well..

    So !!! PLENTY OF CO2 FOR ALL THE WORLD’S PLANT LIFE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS TO COME . 🙂 🙂

    And our tiny contribution is like a flea on an elephant.

    Anyway.. Australia is a NET CARBON SINK….

    so why should be put ourselves backwards by adopting inefficient, irregular energy supplies.

    What we should be doing is upgrading our coal fire plants to the newest, cleanest*, most efficient technology possible.

    *. I mean scrubbing as much of the real pollution as possible, and let the CO2 out for the world’s plant life.

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    • #
      AndyG55

      ps.. and ALL of these new coal fired plants will have a life span of 50 years plus. 🙂

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    • #
      KinkyKeith

      Andy

      “I mean scrubbing as much of the real pollution as possible, and let the CO2 out for the world’s plant life.”

      A true, Win Win situation.

      KK

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  • #
    AndyG55

    “How many things can Lord Deben get wrong?”

    I’d estimate about 97% wrong ! 🙂

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    • #
      Bulldust

      He just had to throw the alarmist line in at the end didn’t he? Lost so very much respect for the guy.

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    • #
      Radical Rodent

      You are a wicked man, Mr Maddison, enticing us into such a site – the first paragraph says it all:

      Even though we are only a little way into the 21st century, the signs of global warming are obvious and many. There are droughts in East Africa, stranded polar bears in the Arctic, bleached coral reefs in the tropics, and retreating glaciers on land.

      While there are a few sceptics in the comments, they are few; one even links to New “Scientist”, with its headline: “Earth’s poles are shifting because of climate change”. Is there nothing climate change cannot do? Or, to put it another way, is there anything that could be considered beneficial from climate change?

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    • #
      Glen Michel

      A gangling nerd who regurgitates science rather than assesses it.Undoubtedly far left and full well knows the real trick in this AGW bizzo.

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    • #
      el gordo

      The man is an alarmist and a disgrace to his profession, still I fancy the Chandler wobble needs a closer look and angular momentum too.

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  • #
    Karim D. Ghantous

    I haven’t heard you speak before so it’s good to put an accent and a voice to a face. 🙂

    Too bad you really weren’t allowed to go all guns blazing against Lord Deben’s assertions. You would have had him against the proverbial wall. And his support for Flannery is breathtaking. Has Flannery been right on anything?

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  • #
    cohenite

    Their abc is unwatchable; and this Deben character is a typical alarmist; condescending, smug and wrong.

    You were interrupted and Deben allowed every opportunity to contradict you with his rubbish.

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  • #

    John Gummer (Lord Deben) has no technical qualifications and has no ability to assess technical data from weather and climate measurements. It seems that in political terms he is similar to Malcolm Turnbull (outwardly UK conservative but in mind left leaning UK liberal). He converted from Anglican to Catholic and likely have been involved in advising the Pope. He was caught in an expenses scandal similar to Bronwyn Bishop. There is more reason to have not given this alarmist a visa than Geert Wilders (Dutch Politician) although personally neither should be restricted for travel to Australia nor the anti abortion advocate fro USA. Free speech should be protected.

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    • #
      diogenese2

      Cementafriend, He is nothing like Turnbull, he does not have Turnbull’s finesse, intellect, integrity and fealty. He also was never capable of working for Goldman Sachs.

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      • #

        You maybe right about intellect, but like Turnbull he is arrogant, scheming, and gullible. Gammon schemed to be made a Peer and raised to the House of Lords which he thought could give him more influence.
        However Turnbull has no integrity or fealty. Turnbull schemed from the time he was deposed as opposition leader. He claimed he was loyal to the Liberal leader but acted to undermine him which shows lack of fealty. Lack of fealty, arrogance and scheming also fits Julie Bishop.
        The gullible belief in CAGW and support of “big money” and power are two more things that make Gammon and Turnbull alike.

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  • #
    handjive

    Could have run a Catallaxy “Q&A interruption Lotto” on that ABC piece.

    My question for the “good lord” is how much of my atmosphere did he pollute flying out to Australia:

    To offset the greenhouse impact of one passenger’s round-trip flight between New York and London, you’d have to recycle roughly 40,000 plastic bottles, assuming you fly coach.

    If you sit in business- or first-class, where each passenger takes up more space, it could be more like 100,000.
    . . .
    Otherwise, it’s just another environmental pompous git that should be made to live without fossil fuels until it understands the misery the pompous git wishes to impose on others less fortunate.

    Promoted by their ABC.

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    • #
      Turtle of WA

      Warmist activists spend most of their time in the air. They only set foot on their precious earth for a couple of ours at a time to make speeches predicting the end of the world. Don’t worry, they pay their climate tithe to the climate deities of Wall Street. All will be forgiven when the Great Warming destroys us all, and Gaia comes in judgement upon our wicked ways.

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    • #
      handjive

      New IPCC chief’s home page features some potential conflicts of interest and some bottled water!

      That’s alotta recycled plastic water bottles + 1 right there!

      60

    • #
      KinkyKeith

      Magic!

      100,000 plastic bags

      🙂

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  • #
    Nick

    Lord Debden, or should I say Gummer is infamous in the UK for feeding his 4 year old daughter a burger on TV during the height of mad cow disease.
    He is absolutely amoral, so it’s no surprise he’s popped up as a spokesman for the climate scam.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1239435/John-Gummer-man-fed-daughter-hamburger-BSE-crisis-quits-Commons.html

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  • #
    Turtle of WA

    Good on you Jo.

    Surely with their enormous budget the ABC can provide you with a screen so you can see that he’s talking to the person next to him and not continuing his discussion with you.

    There isn’t enough time to deal with the issue in this format. There was no time to even mention that carbon dioxide emission reduction are a waste of time and money because it’s NOT WARMING.

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  • #
    Neville

    Their ABC is a disgrace and this Deben must be a first class fool.
    Even if co2 was a problem just about everything he said was total hogwash. Over 90% of future emissions until 2040 will come from the developing countries and the OECD countries will only marginally increase their emissions.
    And OZ hasn’t warmed for nearly 18 years according to the UAH V 6 sat data. What a nut case.

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  • #
    LittleDavey83

    Very brave Jo, thank you.

    Deben’s argument is basically “you need to do more because EVERYONE else is”. Wow. My 4yo can put together a more coherent argument than that. His condescending tone is irritating in the extreme, to be charitable. That was terribly painful to listen to.

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    • #
      James Murphy

      yes, but just imagine what it would sound like to a ‘true believer’…

      No one can adequately explain why Australia should be ‘the leader’, and no one can clearly define the abstraction which is ‘a fair share’ (or similar terminology).

      I find it very interesting that the very same people who actively promote the highly destructive ‘everyone gets prize’ mentality, and the ‘everyone must be allowed to be an individual*, are very keen to rank countries in order of performance, while also demanding conformity.

      *as long as they all share the same beliefs, outlook, and aspirations.

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      • #
        Greg Cavanagh

        are very keen to rank countries in order of performance

        I suspect this is nothing more than coercion, a guilt trip if you will, to try and force participation. If I’m right, then the order, or performance, does not matter.

        In fact if everybody who participates is a winner, then performance definitely doesn’t matter. We see from their own performance and standards that they live within this concept.

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  • #
    Neville

    Now these liars are telling the people that today’s bushfires are unprecedented, but the Bolter gives many examples of fires in August and September as well as early October.

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/cold_winter_ignored_but_one_hot_day_and_alarmist_jon_faine_cuts_loose/#commentsmore

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  • #
    Annie

    I’ve just watched that piece. What an arrogant and rude person that Deben is; how dare he come here being so rude about Australia? I should not have watched it; my BP must be at record levels. You were cut off too Jo; the time he was given to spout his nonsense and the pathetic short time you were given once again demonstrates how unevenhanded ‘their’ ABC is. I don’t watch TV at all now but was foolish enough to follow the link…hmmm.

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    • #
      Annie

      What is more, I felt like puking and then putting an axe through my laptop screen each time he referred to ‘the science’. It is my opinion that those who use such a term know nothing about science but have a money-making tub to thump.

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        Yes my monitor was in danger also Annie, notice straight after Jo gives her very relevant points on China’s coal use Lord Hasbeen launches into another furphy by suggesting we assisted China by supplying most of it, China’s coal imports have dropped from 2013 but it’s still the worlds biggest producer (apologies for no hard figures, time poor).

        In a live debate with Jo, Deben would be continuously corrected on every blustering claim he made I’d love to see him take on Monkton but this Deben seems more comfortable in reading from the warmist handbook where his real interests lie.

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  • #
    Robert O

    I saw a little of the show and I think you got quite a few points across, well done. My impression of Lord Deben was that we were being depicted as the black sheep of the family and should get back into the world paddock and support the UN sponsored politic on AGW.

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  • #
    Gary in Erko

    Lord Wotsisname has a crushed KitKat packet in his jacket pocket, can’t do a symetrical knot for his tie, and talks down to Jo (and all us girted Ozzies) as though he’s telling a naughty little girl the rules of proper mental etiquette. Please keep the convicts here and send the lords back to London.

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  • #
    Robk

    Now we see what we are up against.
    You did well Jo and from what youve written above would do even better in future. You projected well and that must have been difficult when you can’t see them but they can see you. The Lord and John Barron, a condescending pitiful go be thrown into blind.

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  • #

    I’m speechless ….. unlike that Deben character. I can’t believe he actually believes it all himself.

    Tony.

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  • #
    doubting dave

    Its a shame Jo was interrupted before she had chance to point out to the ABC audience that Deben was responsible for the UK climate change act , that put an 11% levee on everyone’s energy bill to pay for property insulation whilst at the same time being a consultant on the board of at least seven green insulation companies. I watched the video twice ,the second time with the mute button on when Deben was speaking,the facial contortions showed either he knew he was talking bollocks or he’s had one to many of those mad cow burgers he’s been eating and force feeding to his daughter

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    • #
      diogenese2

      Slight correction, The CCA was enacted by the Labour government of Tony Blair, drafted by Bryony (now Baroness) Worthington and driven by Ed Milliband as SOs, neither had any science beyond “O” level and it showed. It passed with only 5 votes against, the opposition (conservatives) being besotted with the green imperative. Lord Debens committee is a statutory ADVISORY COMMITTEE with no powers of decision at all. You are right that this man is fluent in Bollocks. There never were any “mad cow burgers” but that is another story.

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      • #
        doubting dave

        Thanks diogeneses2 ,i bow to your superior knowledge of the way political machinery works , but whilst i agree that Debens advisory committee had no direct power of decision in the commons, they certainly did have a big influence from the the other house that Deben took full advantage of to line his own pockets.I really think that Jo should have spoken to her friend Andrew Montford before dueling with Deben , no body has a better understanding of his past than the Bish

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  • #
    Robk

    The CAGW PR machinery is really ramping up. What an extraordinary network of power and influence pursuing such a distorted end.

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  • #
    doubting dave

    Here is Deben(John Selwyn Gummer) when he was a member of the conservative cabinet during the mad cow disease scare ,defending the indefensible to some poor mother thats lost her son ,whilst demonstrating what an obnoxious prat he really is . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VAyCXKmPGM

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  • #
    DayHay

    Should have asked him if the Australia CO2 output went to ZERO (like everyone died) what affect would that have on the earth?
    Latest estimates put the CO2 output of Australia at 1.6% of the worldwide CO2 output.
    So statistically ZERO affect on earth CO2.

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  • #
    Harry Twinotter

    “How many things can Lord Deben get wrong?”

    So you claim. Australia’s response is pretty ordinary considering our reserves of renewable power (wind and solar mostly).

    539

    • #
      Yonniestone

      And uranium, thorium…….oh sorry you were being serious, pppffftttt…

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      • #
        Harry Twinotter

        Yonniestone.

        If you are referring to the nuclear power option – sure, why not? Nuclear waste is an issue, but no reason to think a solution won’t be found.

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        • #
          Bill

          There are many options that nuclear make available. However, the green freaks will never consider any of them….regardless of reality. (Much like the cagw fanatics.)

          11

    • #
      James Murphy

      How do you estimate ‘reserves’ of wind, and solar power?

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      • #
        Yonniestone

        Well no one else has as much sunlight or weather as Australia….and our CO2 is more potent than anywhere else.

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        • #
          James Murphy

          ah… of course, how silly of me to forget that CO2 potency is proportional to GDP, political stability, and geographic location…

          For a facetious answer to my own question, I guess the sun has about another 7-8 billion years of sunlight left – which is almost enough time to recoup the full cost of the average home solar system.

          Before then, the sun will have expanded to the point where the Earth is either completely destroyed, or just a scorched rock, so I propose a small sunlight tax, in order to move the planet further away from the sun when needed. I think you’d all better send the money now, so I can make a head start on this most urgent work.

          (actually, just send it to Jo instead, because sharing air-time with Creepy Lord Debden while staying calm and rational is naught but a superhuman feat)

          Still waiting for your answer though Harry…

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          • #
            James Murphy

            Gosh, I just can’t seem to get Lord Deben’s name right, how embarrassing…

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            • #
              KinkyKeith

              Surely you meant Debit.

              Because that’s what he wants to do to our bank accounts.

              Lord Debit.

              Has a very appropriate ring to it.

              KK

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    • #
      James Bradley

      Hey Harry, or should I address you as Svante Callender,

      You been busted out by WUWT a few day a go as a Sou troll.

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      • #
        Peter C

        A Sou Troll. That’s sounds very bad.

        Maybe Harry Strawman is another identity. He often seems to turn up at the same time.

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        • #
          GI

          Peter C,

          Yep, I can safely say Harry Strawman is not a Twatter identity, perhaps a Twatter nemesis would be more accurate.

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      • #
        Harry Twinotter

        James Bradley.

        Is name calling the best you can do? It looks like it.

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    • #
      Harry Strawman

      Whoa,

      Looks like the jig’s up Haz, see ya.

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    • #
      AndyG55

      Australia is a NET CARBON SINK.. get over it, twin persons.

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      • #
        Harry Twinotter

        AndyG55.

        “Australia is a NET CARBON SINK.. get over it, twin persons.”

        An interesting claim about Australia being a net carbon sink. Details?

        06

    • #
      AndyG55

      So Harry twinperson, you want to destroy the economy by wasting huge amounts of money on worthless, useless wind and solar…. or sending it overseas to the UN bureaucrats.

      You live here and are obviously anti-Australian..

      Which are you a Greens voter, or an islamist ?

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      • #
        Harry Twinotter

        AndyG55.

        “or an islamist”.

        Playing the Islamic fear card? Look out, the rock bottom is approaching fast! 🙂

        [Please both of you get back to the topic. – jo]

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    • #
      Soused

      Harry, get outta there quick boy, come home to your momma.

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  • #
    Ruairi

    The arrogant bluff we behold,
    Is how climate-change drivel is sold,
    To media chiefs,
    Whose climate beliefs,
    Keep skeptics locked out in the cold.

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  • #
    James Murphy

    Debden is evidently an odious little man with unparalleled powers of condescension. No wonder the ABC let him talk so much…

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  • #
    diogenese2

    What is going on here? Who is John Barron? Is he a closet sceptic that he inveigled Lord John Selwyn Gummer to put the case for global warming? The man is a walking catastrophe.
    I ask you ” Australia is at the back of the pack!”. Where was he Saturday Night (& Sunday Morning)? A long way from Twickenham I fancy. And then to go on ABC to bollock the Australians over their renewables. Tony would have a stroke.
    I just looked at the output on this windy day in the UK.
    Max. Demand; 40.5gw Wind 1.3gw solar (3.7% and 10% of faceplate capacity)Solar f.a., so much for the climate change act. I beg you all to peruse the post by Nick #11, it tells you everything you need to know about this clown.
    Jo, you did well in what time you got sticking it to them within their own context and in, response, he could not remember where the COP21 is happening (11.00 minutes)!
    Look at his face – he did not understand a single thing you said.
    “I was in Kyoto” – that explains a lot – John Major sent him to ensure a crap outcome.
    Again read Nick #11. I remember this event well, and it puts me in mind of another Cordelia who had a mad father;
    “When we are born we cry that we are come into this great stage of fools”
    King Lear; Act 4 Scene 6.

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    Klem

    I’m astonished at how Australia’s ABC is still flogging the climate change topic.. Here in N America it’s passé, it’s old news. There is still some discussion about it, but for he most part we’ve moved on.

    Cmon Australia, it’s time to catch up to the rest of us, put climate change behind you.

    And after seeing how little air time they gave Joe, I’d say it’s time to defund the ABC as well.

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      diogenese2

      “I refer you to the curious incident of the dog in the night”

      The curious incident is the Jo was there at all.

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      doubting dave

      Klem , whilst at the moment there may not be much about the climate change scam in the American lame stream media lets not forget that the whole meme has largely been driven by American politics and the dollar, soon there will be an election and Obama will be gone,and if Trump gets in that will be the end for Holdren and perhaps even Gavin Schmidt. Then Trump aided by Jim Inhofe in the Senate will be able to lets say follow the money , o well i can dream .

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    Steven Whalley

    It seems like we can never avoid Lord Deben in the news, even after he ceased being one of the Suffolk UK Members of Parliament some years ago. He was a major political player in ‘clearing’ the Climategate academics.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/8469883/Lobbyists-who-cleared-Climategate-academics-funded-by-taxpayers-and-the-BBC.html

    His son became the MP for Ipswich in Suffolk and the dynasty continues.

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    Ross

    So there is another UK toff talking down to the colonials. Nothing seems to have changed.

    I’m just reading a great book about the history of oil ( The Prize –by Daniel Yergin) and the UK toff’s arrogance and snobbishness is a key reason they wrecked their positions in the Middle East oil industry. When the Americans were in negotiations with Saudi Arabia, Iran etc. they were often told that a deal could be done as long as the English were kept out of it.

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    Bill

    He should really be having a hissy fit, along with the twatter and scarecrow, after the Canadian election gives another mandate to PM Harper to tell the parisites to go pound sand.

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    PeterS

    People still don’t get it. The facts are irrelevant, thanks to the silence of the legitimate section of the scientific community. They have let us down, much the same way the Muslim leaders are letting us down for not co-operating as much as they should with the police and government to stamp out the extreme Islamic terrorists who are living among us. People are too afraid and are pussy footing around. The global warmists have won the war. The next step is clearly to establish their “new commandments” for the their bogus religion. The UN is well on the way to completing that next major step as we speak. If you haven’t realised this by now then you must be living under a rock. Thank the scientific community as a whole for their deafening silence and not exposing the biggest hoax of all time. When good men do nothing, evil wins, or something to that effect.

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      OriginalSteve

      We have been reasoning with as many people as we can speak to….

      I find that smart phones have actually made people dumb – people dont bother to put in the hard work to actually determine whether they are being deliberately lied to.

      I think also that people cant conceive of such a ahuge scam – but as Hitler said, if youre going to lie, make it so huge peopel cant process it…

      Also, ( and I still have trouble processing this ) – most people are ignorant of how the world *actually* works. People are happy to watch 50 videos of cute kittens a day, but ask them to actually work out how their freedoms are being slowly stripped away and they suddenly find another “critical” facebook post they just have to investigate….

      The Establishment must be laughing as the sheeple slowly stumble toward the next fleecing….

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    Bob

    Shame on you Jo for getting dragged into this “Per Capita” nonsense.
    Australia has the 3rd highest Per Capita rainfall whilst being the driest continent in the world. It figures that some fall in Per Capita emissions would flow from the economies of scale if we have a massive increase in population.

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    Another Ian

    More renewables

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2015/10/woohoo.html

    By the comments the locals aren’t impressed either

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    grahamd

    Yes Jo, what a stitch up on the Drum, I hardly watch that program any more an certainly can’t be bothered with Q&A.
    Deben’s argument is bordering on the Delusional; and what a pathetic period of time they gave for a reply, but that is so typical of the lack of balance that exists.
    Getting David’s work out there in the main stream media, across the world is our number one objective. Miranda Devine’s recent article is being widely distributed.
    And yesterday, to the editor of our regional news paper
    —————————————————-
    What is going on?
    Innovation and Australian excellence is unfolding daily and none more so than the current work being undertaken by Dr David Evans. If you are unfamiliar with this work, Miranda Devine’s recent article elaborates further. It is one of the many articles starting to appear on this, our Australian scientific breakthrough; thank goodness this work has started to hit the main stream media worldwide. http://www.ntnews.com.au/lifestyle/miranda-devine-perth-electrical-engineers
    But not up here, so what is the explanation please, is it a touchy subject?

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    Bravo, Jo, it was a brave thing to go on the ABC’s noxious ‘The Drum’ and face down the usual ABC sponsored nonsense. Witnessing Lord Deben spouting the regular CAGW nonsense must have been a great strain. Lord D. is a most odious character who is engaged in making money from the ‘renewable energy’ scam and is paid by ‘renewable energy’ companies.
    I hope that Dr. David Evans’ work on CAGW theory is starting to appear widely in scientific reports and the main stream media worldwide to demolish the CAGW Alarmism from the inside.

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    The problem when appearing in these interviews is what to say in such a short time, specially coming after someone who has had a great deal of time to make their points. Should you, for example, make the point that the whole alarmist case is seriously exaggerated, or would that be too much? I thought Jo did an excellent job in the small time allowed.

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    Wow what a waffler Lord whathisname is… Just a drone of unsubstantiated drivel from start to finish.

    No balance as usual. Jo gets a few seconds then no right of reply.

    ABC pretty much in a nutshell in that exchange.

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    redress

    THE FIX IS IN

    http://morningmail.org/turnbull-tells-his-jockeys-what-to-do/#more-34671

    Just so you dont have to follow the link…..an abstract…..note the dates.

    From: Anna Moloney
    Sent: Tuesday, 29 September 2015 10:38 AM

    Subject: Invitation to Climate Change Information Session and Private Briefing

    Dear Member,

    I write to invite you and your advisors to a Parliamentary Information Session on the Science of Climate Change. At the session leading Australian climate scientists will discuss the impact of Australia’s decision to sign the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the upcoming COP21. There is also an opportunity for you to meet with climate researchers in private briefings, should your diary permit.

    Information Session

    Date: Tuesday 20 October 2015
    Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
    Venue: Reps Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra

    Private Briefings

    Date: Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October 2015
    Time and Venue: To be confirmed – please email Ms Anna Moloney to arrange.

    Supported by The Honourable Greg Hunt MP, Mr Mark Butler MP and Senator Larissa Waters, the lunchtime information session will include presentations from some of Australia’s most eminent climate change researchers based at leading research institutions across the country. You can find short biographies on these scientists in the attached.
    There will be a focus on the local, regional and global impacts of climate change (in particular the effects of sea level rise), the economics of reducing Australia’s emissions, and possible mitigation and adaptation measures. In addition, a broader discussion will consider how Australia can address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and, I hope, provide fruitful information in the lead up to COP21 in Paris in November.

    We hope you and your advisors will be able to find time in your busy schedule to attend this information session and/or meet privately with the visiting researchers on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October to discuss any area of climate science of interest.

    To arrange an individual meeting, or for more details about the information session, please contact Ms Anna Moloney, Global Change Institute Communications and Engagement Manager, advising if there are specific climate scientists you would like to attend your private briefing.

    We look forward to meeting with you.

    Kind regards,

    Anna Moloney

    Communications and Engagement Manager
    Global Change Institute
    The University of Queensland

    Sent on behalf of:

    Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg PhD FAA

    Professor and Director
    Global Change Institute
    The University of Queensland

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    pat

    first and last time I watch the Drum. sorry jo. good to see u invited along while the CAGW-invested Deben spouted his litany of misinfo, but the ABC audience was the loser.

    South Korean Ban Ki-Moon is Secretary-General of the UN and now:

    6 Oct: BBC: Jonathan Webb: Korea’s Hoesung Lee named head of UN climate panel
    Hoesung Lee of South Korea has been named the new head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with assessing climate science.
    Prof Lee, an expert on climate economics and sustainable development, was elected to chair the panel at its ongoing meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia…
    Prof Lee: “I believe it’s very important that for the next round of assessment, we should be able to increase the intellectual contributions from developing countries,” he said. “And also improving gender balance in our author teams is very, very important.”…
    The IPCC has been massively influential in the climate change debate.
    It was set up as a consensus forum to deliberate on climate science and policy…
    So to an extent, the IPCC has done its job, and it is less important now whose hand is at the tiller – so long as they don’t crash the ship.
    http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34450051

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    Radical Rodent

    What an annoying twerp. I never liked him when he was just John Selwyn Gummer; the hectoring whine in his voice makes him even less likable, now.

    Notice, too, his insistence on referring to every country as a “she”. How very PC – what is wrong with the more accurate collective, “they”?

    Then he moves onto the “extremes” of weather, that are “going to get worse and worse!” I would like his crystal ball, as it would be handy to get this week’s lottery numbers. (Mind you, as the “extremes” of weather are actually getting… well… less and less. I know, I know, that is another “extreme”. But one never acknowledged by the likes of Dreben.

    Sorry, Ms Nova, I could not watch it to the end – I find the guy just a little too irritating to give too much of my life to experiencing.

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    Dennis

    Yahoo7 today

    Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will announce the plan in a speech to the All-Energy Council, while reconfirming Labor’s focus on renewables as a source of economic growth.
    “Because renewable energy is at the heart of our view of the jobs, industries and environment of the next century,” he will tell the council in Melbourne on Wednesday.
    Labor recently announced it wanted 50 per cent of Australia’s energy to come from renewables by 2030 and has committed to introducing an emissions trading scheme to curb carbon pollution.

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      gai

      Well, Australia it was nice knowing you.

      I imagine internet will be one of the first to close down to ‘save energy’

      Closing down independent communication to the outside is the second move of any totalitarian government. You already have a gun ban, the first move.

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    pat

    7 Oct: SBS: Jason Thomas: Climate change a massive threat to food security, agriculture
    Australia can expect climate change to make food more scarce and expensive in the future, a new report from the Climate Council says.
    The Climate Council’s report, Feeding a hungry nation: climate change, food and farming in Australia, says the agriculture industry has suffered and will suffer in future as Australia’s climate continues to change…
    Greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, like bushfires, droughts and cyclones will lead to decreased productivity across the agricultural sector, including the livestock and dairy industries…
    The report’s lead author, ecologist Professor Lesley Hughes from Macquarie University, said Australia had a lot of skin to lose as the world’s climate continues to change…
    ***Young farmer, Joshua Gilbert, works on the family cattle stud in Nabiac NSW.
    He is the chair of Young Farmers, a sub group of the NSW Famers Association.
    Mr Gilbert said farmers had already been dealing with the challenges of climate change without necessarily knowing what to call it.
    However, many farmers are recognising that changing conditions on their land are due to climate change and some were making steps to protect their farms from the effects, Mr Gilbert said…
    Key findings of the Climate Council’s report…ETC
    http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/10/06/climate-change-massive-threat-food-security-agriculture

    ***reminder:

    LinkedIn: Joshua Gilbert
    Summary: Most recently, Josh led the NSW Young Farmers’ Council in moving a motion at the NSW Farmers Annual Conference, attracting national and international media companies, international social media attention and Al Gore (45th US Vice President).
    Experience:
    Consultant PwC Indigenous Consulting
    April 2015 – Present
    ***Indigenous Finance Cadet Australian Broadcasting Corporation
    November 2010 – 2014…
    Young Farmers Council and Chair NSW Farmers’ Association
    February 2013 – Present…
    National Earth Hour Ambassador Earth Hour
    https://au.linkedin.com/in/gilbertjoshuam

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    Damien Spillane

    Nice work Joe!

    Infuriating that they give that AGW propagandist twice the amount of time they gave you. As you said they could have had a genuine interesting debate on their hands but giving you equal time would have exposed the lies he was spruiking.

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    pat

    trying to stitch up an agreement – no Africans listed as “key leaders”:

    5 Oct: Politico: Sara Stefanini: World leaders sidelined at Paris climate talks
    Summit organizers want them to show up at the start, not the end, to avoid a repeat of the Copenhagen disaster.
    “The French idea is to have heads of state come at the beginning to make statements — they will not negotiate, you won’t have them in closed doors,” an EU source familiar with the preparations said.
    While Paris has yet to send out invitations to the summit, which runs from November 30 to December 11, key leaders from both the developed and developing worlds are expected to show. That includes U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and of course the host, French President Francois Hollande.
    The point is to keep leaders’ hands clear of the actual text of the agreement, in case it fails to satisfy. But their presence in Paris is required if the 196 countries want to succeed this time, environmental advocates say…
    The outcome of the Danish COP15 in 2009 was derailed at the beginning by a leaked draft of the agreement, and then exacerbated by the final talks among a couple of dozen heads of state…
    http://www.politico.eu/article/leaders-will-not-negotiate-at-paris-climate-talks/

    following has been picked up by all CAGW-invested websites, especialy those focused on renewables.
    fossil-fuel-rich African countries, exploited by the rest of the world in the past, present & future, are being told they will only be allowed to develop by buying into other countries’ renewables options! nice.

    6 Oct: Business Green: Jocelyn Timperley: Renewables could supply nearly a quarter of Africa’s energy by 2030, says report
    IRENA report says the continent has the potential to quadruple the proportion of its energy supplied by renewables
    The report identifies four modern renewable energy technologies that could play a major role in the continent’s energy mix: hydropower, wind, solar power, and modern biomass systems for cooking.
    The report also highlights how solar and wind projects across Africa are now producing ***record-low electricity prices…
    The report also recommends the active promotion of investment by increasing the availability of local financing and the use of public financing to reduce ***perceived risks to investors…
    Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of IRENA: “Tapping into renewable energy resources is the only way African nations can fuel economic growth, maximise socio-economic development and enhance energy security with limited environmental impact,” he said in a statement. “The technologies are available, reliable and ***increasingly cost-competitive. The onus is now on Africa’s governments to create conditions to accelerate deployment, paving the way for Africa’s unfettered, sustainable development.”
    http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2428941/renewables-could-supply-nearly-a-quarter-of-africas-energy-by-2030-says-report

    ***just some of the contradictory statements in this piece.

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    doubting dave

    off topic i know , but in my last comment to Klem i could’nt help thinking about Donald Trump and a past experience of mine.I’m not a scientist so i can’t understand Dr Evans ideas on a scientific level, but i used to play or hack on a guitar in an amateurish way and if you pluck on a guitar string you would notice how initially you would create a powerful short wave vibration, that after a while , as the energy from the pluck would dissipate would become a long wave vibration, and i kind of try to understand radiation on that level. One of my favourite guitar players is George Thorogood who i first saw play live supporting the stones live at Leeds back in the day,later i spent some time in the states just traveling for the experience, where i met and had a brief relationship with an Indian squaw come hippie that went to school with George Thorogood , she took me to a gig in Houston Texas , and got us back stage VIP entrance , where i had the privilege of strumming a few chords with George an experience i’ll never forget as long as i live. So imagine my delight and surprise when i came across this recent youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHd4_8WGWj8

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  • #

    I had to watch the bit about China again to see if I heard it correctly.

    This guy Deben is either clueless or mendacious, and I suspect the latter.

    He CANNOT actually believe what he said about China.

    No one is that clueless.

    Trust me, these people KNOW. They’re just spouting this stuff to achieve their own ends.

    They know in their heart of hearts that they cannot run a large city, any large city, without large scale constant electrical power, and that can realistically ONLY be supplied from one source, and they know this.

    Once the source of money is secured, you just watch how many of those large scale coal fired plants close down, and you’ll need a magnifying glass.

    Because without them, they have no money.

    They know!

    Tony.

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      el gordo

      ‘Trust me, these people KNOW.’

      They do and they should be brought to account, but we’ll have to wait until the global cooling tipping point a couple of years from now.

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    pat

    jo -it could have been worse. u could have been invited on to Weekend Sunrise for this discussion!

    Youtube: NYU (Bioethicist) Prof: Fight climate change with hormone treatments on small children, ‘closes the growth plates’
    Interviewed on the Sunrise Weekend morning show (30 Sept) NYU Professor Matthew Liao promotes hormone treatments on children ‘when their(sic) small’ to close their ‘growth plates’ and thus stunt child growth. Professor Liao says this helps fight climate change since ‘larger people consume more energy than smaller people.’
    HOST MONIQUE WRIGHT: “With the idea that smaller people would be more — or have a smaller carbon footprint?”
    O’KEEFE: “Would they consume less?”
    LIAO: “That’s right. So, other things being equal larger people consume more energy than smaller people. They also, for example, it takes more energy to transport larger people. They — you need more clothes — fabrics to clothes larger people rather than smaller people. They wear out shoes, carpets, et cetera, et cetera more than smaller people. So think of the life time carbon footprints. That’s quite a lot.”…
    (DISCUSSION MOVES TO VEGETARIAN DIET, MEAT PATCH, ETC)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_E3A0oud4M

    WUWT had a thead on the Prof, but not the above, the other day:

    1 Oct: WUWT: Eric Worrall: Bizarre Idea: Turning us into dwarves with night vision will save us from climate change
    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/10/01/bizarre-idea-turning-us-into-dwarves-with-night-vision-will-save-us-from-climate-change/

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    Egor TheOne

    Jo ,
    I am surprised to see you on the AlpgreensBC true b’lver group think show ‘ The Dumb ‘ !!!

    Surely , you knew you would not get a fair hearing on this socialist propaganda outlet !

    As it progressed , most of the show was listening to yet another sickening self proclaimed authority on climate medievalism accompanied by group thinkers all nodding in the back ground ……whilst only allowing you the equivalent of a commercial break……..the AlpgreensBC version of equality and non bias !

    I would be most interested to know of this Climate Clown’s obvious renewable financial interests ……no doubt , yet another of many with both hands in the taxpayer funded cookie jar !!!

    You are a brave trooper Jo, to do battle on a pitchforkers show like that !

    Perhaps you should have fronted up with a life jacket so as not to risk drowning in the senile Lord Deben ‘s Medieval Climate BS !!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9bEOB3x0dQ

    http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/climate-change-warnings-over-the-years.jpg

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      bobl

      Not even the commercial break, and more importantly Deben got to talk first AND last. Typical propaganda tactic… shame, shame, shame ABC

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    pat

    6 Oct: Reuters Carbon Pulse: Stian Reklev: ANZ to provide A$10 billion in clean energy funding
    Australia’s ANZ bank will provide A$10 billion ($7b) in low carbon funding by 2020 and stop financing conventional coal-fired power plants, it said in a new climate change statement.
    ANZ said it supported the aim of limiting global warming to 2C, and that it wanted to “facilitate a gradual and orderly transition” away from fossil fuels to clean energy sources such as wind and solar…
    The recent downfall of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sparked new optimism in the renewables industry, with Malcolm Turnbull thought to be much more supportive of wind and solar than his predecessor…
    http://carbon-pulse.com/anz-to-provide-a10-billion-in-clean-energy-funding/

    6 Oct: Bloomberg: Greenpeace Says Can Find Cash to Buy Vattenfall Coal Assets
    by Niklas Magnusson, Jesper Starn and Tino Andresen
    Greenpeace is exploring funding options to buy Vattenfall AB’s lignite operations in Germany as it seeks to shut the power plants and prevent others from starting new coal mines.
    The environmental group wants to start discussions with Vattenfall after the Swedish state-owned utility put the assets up for sale, Annika Jacobson, head of Greenpeace in Sweden, said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday…
    Vattenfall’s plants and mines, with a capacity of more than 8,000 megawatts combined, are worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to 3 billion euros, according to Rodger Rinke, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg…
    The organization could finance a potential acquisition with donor money, crowd-funding and other sources of financing, he said.
    “Mostly, we would believe it would be our supporters who would be interested in such an acquisition to save the climate,” he said…
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-06/greenpeace-says-it-can-find-cash-to-buy-vattenfall-coal-assets

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    pat

    ***in the world that has NINE COUNTRIES!

    5 Oct: Guardian: Dana Nuccitelli: The Republican Party stands alone in climate denial
    Amid internal calls for climate action, a study finds that Republicans are the only climate-denying conservative party ***in the world
    A paper published in the journal Politics and Policy by Sondre Batstrand at the University of Bergen in Norway compared the climate positions of conservative political parties around the world. Batstrand examined the platforms or manifestos of the conservative parties from the USA, UK, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany. He found that the US Republican Party stands alone in its rejection of the need to tackle climate change and efforts to become the party of climate supervillains…
    So, what’s different about the United States? One factor is the immensely profitable and politically influential fossil fuel industry…
    Australia just replaced its climate-dubious prime minister Tony Abbott with climate realist Malcolm Turnbull, and even Abbott’s government had a climate ‘Direct Action Plan’, albeit an impotent plan…
    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/oct/05/the-republican-party-stands-alone-in-climate-denial

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      Len

      Australia didn’t replace their Prime Minister. He was white anted by socialist group of lefties.

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      gai

      WOW, SO lets attack the Republicans because they are not socialist enough!

      As an American I would like to point out we call them RINOs (Republican in name only) The reason Trump is popular is because he is NOT part of the Republican establishment who was jockeying to have the RINO Twig (Jeb Bush) as the nominee. The GOPe (Grand Old Party establishment) is really really upset that the voters are not cooperating with their propaganda campaign against Trump and have hauled out the big guns to attack him after FOX news flopped.

      — The commenters are not happy, and ‘school’ Glen Beck

      American Thinker: What is Donald Trump?

      The problem is 1/3 of American voters want a third party according to a recent poll and the Republicans (and independents) are the least loyal to the Republican party. (The Democrat voters are much more loyal to their party.) The Republican and Independents vote Republican only because the other choice is a hard left in your face Fabian Progressives. Now the Republican establishment is finding out that seven years of giving Obama free rein with no opposition ESPECIALLY after voters gave them a clear majority in the House and Senate, is going to come back and TRUMP them.

      The establishment pulled the same use of the MSM propaganda machine and destroyed the Tea Party. Again at the beginning the Tea Party had the support of 1/3 of the American voters according to Rasmussen Polls. However it is seven years later and the voting public is much wiser to the use of propaganda. According to a recent Gallup Poll American trust in the MSM has really nose dived with 60% of Americans saying they have little or no trust in the mass media. Worse for the establishment “Only 7% of Americans have a solid trust in MSM” (Over 50% Europeans do not trust mainstream media either)– Cheerful news!

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    pat

    pathetic:

    6 Oct: Climate Change News: Ed King: BBC apologises for radio show that mocked climate science
    Half-hour programme did not make clear climate sceptics were a “minority voice”, UK broadcaster admits, in “an unfortunate lapse” of editorial policy
    “What’s the point of the Met Office”, aired in August, did not make clear sceptics are a “minority voice, out of step with scientific consensus,” the corporation said in an email to climate scientist Andy Smedley.
    “This was an unfortunate lapse for which we apologise and we would like to assure you we remain committed to covering all aspects of the subject in the most accurate and responsible way possible.”
    Presented by Daily Mail columnist Quentin Letts, the show featured Peter Lilley MP, Graham Stringer MP, forecaster Piers Corbyn and Andy Silvester from the Tax Payers Alliance…
    The BBC said it had carried out an internal review and emphasised that the programme emerged from “an unusual combination of circumstances which we have now rectified”.
    Read the full reply here…PLUS TWEETS
    The broadcaster also added a note to the show’s web page, clarifying that the Met Office’s views on climate change were supported by scientific consensus.
    http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/10/06/bbc-apologises-for-radio-show-that-mocked-climate-science/

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    Manfred

    Congratulations Jo. Clearly you had your anti-emetics on board!

    OT and over at The Telegraph a heads up to business as usual at the UN, who still haven’t got the message after their euphemistically described ‘Oil for Food’ debacle.

    United Nations officials charged with accepting massive bribes from China businessmen.

    Police officers are investigating alleged links between business tycoons and top UN officials who stand accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for advancing their interests at the body

    It appears that Ban Ki-moon claims to be “shocked and deeply troubled” by UN-business-as-usual. It seems the eco-totalitarians still have a lot to learn about not being caught?

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    Old farte

    Jo,

    next time you get to “debate” Lord Deben, maybe you could squeeze in that he won an award from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and immediately ask him, “Do you prefer solar plants frying desert songbirds, or wind turbines chopping up eagles and hawks, and the operators not getting charged, jailed or fined for killing protected avian species? For example, somebody found with a single golden eagle feather is subject to imprisonment, but slicing up dozens of whole live golden eagles is no offense, for a wind-farm operator.

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    RealOz

    Hi Jo!
    Longtime reader but not a commenter -until now.
    I have just witnessed the tirade from that fatuous old blatherskite Pom which really riled.
    BUT the behaviour of their bloody ABC was (even for these demented lefties) atrocious.
    The way you were cut-off to return to yet another uninterrupted tirade of Turnbull adoration and Aussie bashing as he dredged his fetid imagination for his climate “facts” was gut wrenching.
    Please, no offence meant but your rebuttal in this blog is too restrained for the indignity you have been subjected to.

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      gai

      Jo Nova is a real Lady and Dr Evans a real gentleman a vanishing species in this day and age.

      ME? On occasion I show my teeth but try to be restrained. However as the years wear on and the goals of CAGW becomes clear and closer, that is becoming harder and harder.

      My hats off to Jo and David for their unfailing restraint.

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    Rico L

    I just watched this via the link. What gets me is how agitated people become when “human made climate change” is challenged – don’t want to discuss it, don’t want to give you any time to make your case, don’t want to listen….. But I expect you to listen intently to me and completely agree with me (and no, I don’t have data or proof).

    I like the way they go back to the statement “it is already happening” – where??

    Drought in California, floods in South Carolina… sounds like weather to me.

    Wasn’t there a flooding event recorded in that famous book that lasted 40 days and 40 nights?? I think the pope guy will know that story….

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      el gordo

      ‘…sounds like weather to me.’

      And it is, but our cherry picks are more believable.

      http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34400982

      When the snow fails to melt over summer its obvious that Scotland is not getting any warmer and we are probably witnessing a regional cooling signal.

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        gai

        For the second year in a row?

        Last year in the summer they found over 300 patches of Névé, the first stage in glacier formation in Scotland.

        You can add to that the record high ice on the Great Lakes in the 2013/2014 winter and the high amount of ice this last winter. The water during the Fall of 2014 (September to November) saw 98% of the Great Lakes’ surface water temperatures colder than average. Lake Superior, 4.2°C (7.6°F) below average, Lake Michigan 3°C (5.4°F) below average, Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron generally 2°C (3.6°F) below average.

        Why is this significant?

        Because Ice Age glaciation does not hit all areas equally. (Think Stephen Wilde’s Loopy Jets) The areas with major glaciers are the Midwest to eastern USA and Scotland through Scandinavia. Also Glaciation starts in Hudson Bay directly north of the Great lakes. (According to Wiki)

        http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/paleoveg/veg-adams-big.gif

        http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~dennis/Hartm.ice.new.gif

        So what else has been happening that the MSM hides?

        November 18 – 20, 2014 Buffalo NY – 30 major roof collapses, 100 minor collapses (SEVEN FEET of snow in one storm – the average snowfall for an entire year: 93.6 inches, or close to 8 feet) At the same time ice surrounding locks and dams on the upper Mississippi River near Minnesota’s Twin Cities forced the earliest winter closure on record, according to Reuters. All the snow events during the end of 2014 resulted in Northern Hemisphere snow cover this fall to be the highest ever on record.

        Norway – Forced to remove excessive snow from ski slopes
        “During the last two days we’ve got more snow than we had in the last two years together,” says Vegar Sårheim. “I had never believed we would experience this.”
        (wwwDOT)irda.no/Dette_skisenteret_m__fjerne_sn_-5-15-15714.html

        Greek islands in the Mediterranean buried under 6½ ft (2 m) of snow

        The Cycladic island of Tinos faces a third difficult day Friday after heavy snowfall disabled much of its infrastructure as well as isolating several villages….
        At least eight villages on Tinos were cut off Thursday as snow levels reached up to 2 meters while schools and public services remained closed….
        (wwwDOT)ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_08/01/2015_546050

        March 6 2015 Record snow in Abruzzo, Italy, 5 & 6 Mar 2015 “…Published on March 8, 2015 – As of the morning of Thursday, March 5, for about 24 consecutive hours it snowed persistently recording a total accumulation of 1 meter and a half. (Almost 5 feet)…”
        Abruzzo, Italy is at 42.4°N Altitude/ elevation: 11 m (36 ft) so it is not in the mountains.

        March 11, 2015: World Record Snowfall in Capracotta, Italy “Entire buildings and cars buried. 100.8 inches of snow in just 18 hours” Previous record belonged to Silver Lake, Colorado, USA with 75.8 inches.
        Capracotta, Italy is 41°50′N altitude of 1,421 metres (4,662 ft)

        (You would think the Pope might get the message sent from the heavens wouldn’t you?)

        Mar. 1, 2014 — “At midnight, Green Bay [Wisconsin] made it 49 days with subzero temperatures, the most in a winter. The previous record, 48 days, was set in 1976-77.”

        There are tons more winter events like Japan getting plastered with snow storm after snow storm even on there sub tropical island of Tokushima,(34.0° N) resulting in roof collapses and multiple deaths but not a peep out of the MSM. We never see this type of Extreme Event in the News.

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  • #
    Lewis P Buckingham

    This is an opportunity for the ABC to say they have been ‘balanced’.They can always now point to a ‘Climate D…..’ being given an opportunity to express herself.
    A morsel thrown into the pit so the plebs and groundlings may feed.
    A debate would be much better.
    Are they game?

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    bobl

    This man, is delusional, math challenged and incompetent. So much wrong, you did a good job in the about 1’30” you were gifted. But I note Deben was allowed to speak first and last, so as to both preempt you and counter what you had to say. Wonderful balance that, can’t even be called debate. I have some comments for next time though.

    You had so little time it must have been very hard for you, but you were very defensive I thought, rather than defend Australia you perhaps should have gone on the offensive….

    Eg. Britains policy has been credited to freezing tens of thousands of people to death each winter.

    Australias Nett AGW emission is of the ofder -540 GT per annum rel 1999 taking into account effects of CO2 fertilisation. That is we are beyond zero, not -38% we are at -200%

    Australias forests alone are some 1,474,000 square km, SIX TIMES the area of the whole of Great Britain! Their piddling 31,380 sq Km of forest, is only 1/47th of Australia’s forests. Great Britain is doing f-all of the heavy lifing of sequestration, and despite being a nation of just 20 odd million we are squirelling away almost 50 TIMES the CO2 that the UK does and Deben lectures US!

    Australia is one of the biggest carbon sinks in the world, where is Britain’s Cheque to Australia for us sinking their considerable CO2 waste.

    How does Deben suggest that we manage for the other 75% of the times when there is inadequate wind or sun, eveready batteries perhaps?

    Does Deben understand T.R.O.P.I.C.A.L, and S.A.N.D both features of which mean that fragile wind and solar can’t be used North of Brisbane or west of the darling downs, does he know what a Tropical Cyclone does? Has he got any idea how unconnected our power systems are because of the distance…. No.

    Would The good Lord prefer to walk across Australia or Britain? (Brits have no understanding of how vast Australia is)

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    Nathan

    Thanks for your excellent efforts for standing for truth Jo. You bit your tongue so well. I might watch the drum more if you are on.

    Thanks to your website I can unseat most alarmists simply with basic logic and facts without having to know all the scientific details. You have a great skill in laying out the science and the politics in a way that the layman can grasp and understand. You are a very good communicator with a twist of Aussie sarcasm that makes it enjoyable.

    Your great husband on the other hand ….. It’s so exciting to have been reading for years and see the process following through and grow. I hope he will receive the recognition he truly deserves.

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    ScotsmaninUtah

    Lord Deben – real name John Gummer”

    Jo, you were overly polite in referring to him as Lord Deben in your post.

    His comment about Australia being worse than China is a bizarre statement. Difficult to know how to respond to that.

    However on a more serious note John Gummer is in fact a “Minion” (it’s the eyes that give it away), kids love them … they even have a movie out 😀

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    pat

    Manfred posted a link to UK Telegraph

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/11915629/United-Nations-officials-charged-with-accepting-massive-bribes-from-China-businessmen.html

    & wrote –

    “OT and over at The Telegraph a heads up to business as usual at the UN, who still haven’t got the message after their euphemistically described ‘Oil for Food’ debacle.”

    I came here to post a different MSM report, but won’t bother. instead, i’ll just post the FBI page. I figured CAGW might get a mention, so checked it out and here it is!

    6 Oct: FBI: Former UN General Assembly President and Five Others Charged in $1.3 Million Bribery Scheme
    Deputy United Nations Ambassador for the Dominican Republic Also Among Those Charged
    In addition to agreeing to pay for ASHE’s family vacation and basketball court, LORENZO began paying ASHE’s wife, as a “climate change consultant” for NGO-1, in the amount of $2,500 per month…
    In addition to attendance at the conference, CC-3 also sought to “offer [ASHE] a permanent convention venue for the UN meetings on sustainability and climate changes…as well as for the 193 members of the UN to convene…”
    https://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2015/former-un-general-assembly-president-and-five-others-charged-in-1.3-million-bribery-scheme

    haven’t found any MSM carrying the CC mentions. lol.

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    ScotsmaninUtah

    “South Carolina – yearly storms”

    Taken fomr USGS report – some perspective

    “Since 1871, 33 tropical storms and hurricanes have directly hit the state (SCDNR-SCO, 2007). Northeasters, informally called “Nor’easters,” are winter storms that affect the South Carolina coastline every year with strong winds that blow in a northeast to southwest direction. These storms can be ten times larger than a hurricane and thereby affect a broader stretch of coast at one time.”

    In the Hurricane that hit South Carolina in 1885, damaged 90% of the houses in Charleston alone.

    John Gummer’s claim that the current storm to hit South Carolina is due to AGW (he is implying this) is pure sophistry.

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    posa

    Jo… nice appearance… but in the future you have to judicially interrupt when someone is blabbing flagrant nonsense and call them out… usually the moderator will allow that… if they don’t and the mic is turned off… then time to leave.

    Broadcasters like a bit of controversy … pick your spot and attack.

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    ScotsmaninUtah

    “Expensive garden Gnomes”

    John Gummer’s comments on China are totally absurd, China will not reduce its emissions (within 15 years), 40% of China’s population is still unindustrialized. They need colossal amounts of energy to maintain their growth.

    Interesting that in 2009, Lord Deben attracted attention in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, after claiming £36,000 for gardening over 4 years, rules state claims should only be made on expenses essential to parliamentary duties.

    Would you trust this man ?

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    • #

      Teaser.

      With respect to China, they have the cleanest burning, most efficient, and least CO2 emitting coal fired power plants on Planet Earth.

      A reference to U.S. coal fired plants proves this conclusively.

      Take the total generated power from every operational coal fired plant in the U.S.

      The exact equivalent generated power from coal fired plants in China emits, and wait for this ….. 35% less CO2.

      Don’t ever believe China has dirty coal fired power. They have the newest fleet in the World, and are increasing that by Australia’s total coal fired power each and every year for a long time into the future.

      All Deben has here is spin.

      Tony.

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    Andrew McRae

    Jo, you know why the ABC did it that way. It’s so they can say “of course we’ve had a proper climate change debate, we gave you 1 minute and 26 seconds on TV once, what more do you want?”

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    ScotsmaninUtah

    I have to disagree with some of the commentators on this post who suggest Jo was not aggressive enough.
    Remember John Gummer is a seasoned “Political Huckster”. He wasn’t listening anyway and he pretty much said Australia was evil incarnate. (probably because she threw out the carbon tax under Abbot, which left the UK looking stupid).

    It is astonishing his claim that the UK intends to eliminate 80% of emissions by 2050 this will result in the deaths of tens of thousands in the UK each winter.
    John Gummer is not the least bit concerned about this inconvenient truth.

    One has to wonder where all this AGW hysteria is taking the UK ?

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      gai

      “One has to wonder where all this AGW hysteria is taking the UK ?”

      Straight back to the Dark Ages and very high death rates. Remember this time around the serfs will not even be allowed to burn wood much less coal and there are a heck of a lot more people to scramble after what scarce resources there are. Old folks are already burning books, will the furniture be next?

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    Old farte

    Jo,

    Another thing. Next time Lord Deben is in Oz, ask him if he got there in a sailboat, or if his jet was powered by unicorn farts.

    Also, does he believe the world needs fewer people? So why does he have 4 children?

    With these kind of “leaders” it’s always, “I know what you people need to do. i don’t have to do what I prescribe for you. I know what’s best for you and me. What’s best for you is very different to what is best for me.”

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    pat

    for the record – one minute u r flying high, living it up in NYC at the SDG shindig, on a mission to eradicate poverty everywhere within 15 years:

    24 Sept: Caribbean Life News: Vinette K. Pryce: Antigua calls for global action to end hunger
    This week the whole world is watching New York…
    Add to that performances by Beyonce, Pearl Jam and Coldplay at the Global Citizens Festival in Central Park on Saturday…
    (Art) Arellanes has produced the half-time Superbowl entertainment shows and a long list of impressive nationwide showcases as well as twice previously, executive produced the South-South Awards…
    To that effort he has invited A-list celebrities to endorse the achievements of the global South when they celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations and its adoption of the new universal development framework known as the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
    ***Antigua & Barbuda is one of the committee members and during the leadership of John Ashe, then president of the general assembly and Caribbean twin-island native, the stage was set for the bold initiative…
    Academy award winners Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Forrest Whitaker are among the elite expected to make presentations…
    http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2015/9/2015-09-25-vkp-inside-life-cl.html

    and then suddenly:

    6 Oct: Antigua Observer: Brenton Henry: FORMER DIPLOMAT ARRESTED
    Several reputable news agencies including Reuters are reporting that U.S. authorities arrested former Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. John Ashe…
    From 2012 to 2014, Ashe deposited more than $3 million from foreign governments and officials in accounts at two major American banks, the complaint said…
    It said he transferred some to his wife’s bank accounts and spent other sums on his home mortgage in Dobbs Ferry, New York; BMW lease payments; and Rolex watches.
    http://antiguaobserver.com/former-diplomat-arrested/

    above links to the original filing:
    http://cdn.antiguaobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ashe.pdf?edf34d

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    pat

    ***- Climate, taxes, Sean Penn – LOL:

    7 Oct: Daily Star: AFP: World economic leaders tackle slow growth, climate change
    LIMA: Kick-starting the sluggish global economy and funding the climate-change fight top the agenda this week as finance ministers and central bank chiefs from around the world gather in Peru.
    Setting the stage for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the IMF cut its 2015 growth forecast for the world economy Tuesday to 3.1 percent, predicting the worst year since the global recession of 2009…
    ***- Climate, taxes, Sean Penn –
    An entire neighborhood of Lima has been closed off with military checkpoints for the occasion, leaving the streets bizarrely empty in the normally traffic-jammed city and creating headaches for commuters.
    The cordon will keep any protesters well away from the movers and shakers who drive the global economy…
    Indeed, inequality is a hot topic in the long list of events and panels scheduled around the meeting, which will get a celebrity boost when actor Sean Penn jets in to discuss his humanitarian work.
    But concrete progress is more likely to come on another major issue: the fight against climate change…
    …Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is due to publish a report Wednesday on progress toward reaching the global funding target of $100 billion a year to fight the impacts of global warming…
    https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2015/Oct-07/317978-world-economic-leaders-tackle-slow-growth-climate-change.ashx

    7 Oct: Reuters: DIARY-Top Economic Events to Oct 19
    WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, LIMA, PERU – The IMF holds a conversation on climate change – 1900 GMT. Speakers: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. LIMA – The IMF holds a discussion “Energy Pricing-Getting it Right” – 2030 GMT. Speakers: IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu and former Irish President Mary Robinson…
    THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, LIMA, PERU – World Bank President Jim Yong Kim participates in a discussion titled “Young Entrepreneurs as Drivers of Sustainable Growth” – 1900 GMT…
    LIMA – World Bank President Jim Yong Kim participates in discussion on “Future of Food: A Conversation about Shaping a Climate-Smart Food System” – 2130 GMT…
    FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 LIMA – G-20 members hold a news conference – 1330 GMT. LIMA – World Bank holds a discussion on “Unleashing Private Investment in Renewable Energy” – 1600 GMT. Speakers:- World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Norway Foreign Minister Borge Brende…
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/07/diary-top-econ-idUSL3N1262XR20151007

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    PeterPetrum

    Well done, Jo! Did somebody tell you not to stop for breath, or did you work it out all by yourself? It was good that you had your facts ready to go an fired them out, one after another. The prick in charge managed to interrupt you anyway, but at least you got your message over, no matter what the question was. Good interview technique. As I said, well done!

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    Rick Will

    It is great that you were considered to be a voice worth listening too. Hopefully you ail get more opportunities.

    My impression of what you offered is that you accept that humans cause climate change but Australia has a difficult task in cutting emissions due to pollution growth and political issue with nuclear. I think you tried to answer the question asked. That is what a scientist or engineer does. You need to immediately shift the conversation to your point of view.

    Deben was more convincing. He has a simple message about Australia being at the back of the pack and put that message across.

    To me your message should be simple and direct:-
    1. Human caused climate change is a myth. The models are wrong. Weather is little changed over the last 300 years.
    2. Energy efficiency, solar and wind energy are side shows – experimental technologies. There are no current commercial technologies that can replace fossil fuels. The simple test is that none work without subsidies.

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      el gordo

      ‘My impression of what you offered is that you accept that humans cause climate change …’

      Heaven forbid, this is shocking news.

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      el gordo

      ‘Weather is little changed over the last 300 years.’

      Or we could say weather has been dynamic over the last 300 years, to reach the heights of our modern climate optimum, but its drawing to a close.

      10

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    Geoff Sherrington

    Jo,

    So that was Lord Deben, as in Debenture, “A type of debt instrument that is not secured by physical assets or collateral.”

    He was given full time to unleash a broadside of catch phrases, while you we given hardly any time.
    That is the ABC at its “balanced” best.

    You did well in a short time. To me, it started to reveal that Deben did not say agreed things; be repeated a mantra without giving any detail of cost, science, no financial and scientific “best vales so far understood.”

    Being wise after the event, maybe you should have your own mantra checklist. Write it in your own favourite phrases
    like:

    There has been no global warming in satellite records for nearly 20 years
    Nobody has complained that alleged global warming has caused them any strong discomfort or loss
    The seas are gently rising at about 0.2 mm per year
    No island is going to feel any significant effects of sea level rise in the years to 2050.
    Carbon dioxide in a laboratory can be measured to capture heat, then cool again.
    Carbon dioxide can be shown to add negligible amounts to any global warming.
    There is nobody so far who has shown global warming is due to Man and not due to vatural variation.
    Carbon dioxide is a plant food. Right now, it is needed plant food because the greening of the globe has barely begun

    etc etc etc

    If you simply sit there with a smile and say these things while staring into the camera, you will defeat some of the broadside.
    It does not matter what question is asked. Just stick to your script and don’t try to make anything up on the run.
    As far as possible, argue on your own grounds. Don’t ever try to argue on another’s grounds even if you see a low hanging fruit.

    Well done Jo.

    Geoff.

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    Aaron M

    Goodness I could whack that old *$@^& right in his &@%$(.

    Does he have a mute button? Does he think he represents the world??

    I need a drink!

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    John

    Well Jo, I admire your tenacity, but cannot really understand why you ‘subjected’ yourself to the vagaries of the program’s inferior host and his rent seeking pommie alarmist guest. Just more of the usual dross from the Drum.

    The continuing series of articles from your husband are very interesting and hopefully will actually promote a debate amongst the political class!!

    Keep up the good work.

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    bobl

    I might point out the continuous stream of sexism in Deben’s language refering to countries as she, was downright annoying. Countries do not have a gender.

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    pat

    posted online 21 hours ago, but ABC/Fairfax aren’t touching this as yet.
    note Milman’s claim that Guardian Australia “understands” Turnbull “has shown interest in the issue of displacement”. this constant covering for Turnbull is truly hilarious:

    7 Oct: Guardian: Oliver Milman: UN drops plan to help move climate-change affected people
    Australia opposed the plan for a group to assist migration, and it has been left off the draft agreement for UN climate talks in Paris
    A previous draft of the deal to be thrashed out by nations included a “climate change displacement coordination facility” that would provide “organised migration and planned relocation”, as well as compensation, to people fleeing rising sea levels, extreme weather and ruined agriculture.
    However, this reference has been removed in a revised text ahead of the December climate conference negotiations. Australia opposed the facility, although Guardian Australia understands the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has shown interest in the issue of displacement…
    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/07/un-drops-plan-to-create-group-to-relocate-climate-change-affected-people

    in the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday:

    7 Oct: Reuters: Merkel says attacks on auto industry put jobs at risk
    German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she believed Volkswagen was doing its best to clear up its diesel emissions scandal and urged the green lobby not to condemn the broader auto industry, warning this could put thousands of jobs at risk…
    Responding to a Greens politician in the chamber, she added: “Please don’t use this to condemn the entire auto industry. It puts thousands and thousands of European jobs at risk.”
    (Reporting by Tom Koerkemeier; Writing by Noah Barkin; editing by David Stamp)
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/07/volkswagen-emissions-merkel-idUSB5N0ZO00P20151007

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    pat

    not of interest to Fairfax:

    7 Oct: Business Green: Wind power companies set for boom and bust in face of (UK) government cutbacks, industry warns
    (Sorry, this article is not free to view)
    http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/2429007/wind-power-companies-set-for-boom-and-bust-in-face-of-government-cutbacks-industry-warns

    of interest to Fairfax (hope TonyfromOz will comment):

    7 Oct: SMH: Bloomberg: Tom Randall: Solar and wind power just passed another big turning point
    Wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in both Germany and the UK, even without government subsidies. It’s the first time that threshold has been crossed by a G7 economy.
    But that’s less interesting than what just happened in the world’s largest economy, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
    To appreciate what’s going on in the US, you need to understand the capacity factor…
    The sun doesn’t shine at night and, even during the day, varies in brightness with the weather and the seasons. So a project that can crank out 100 megawatt hours of electricity during the sunniest part of the day might produce just 20 per cent of that when averaged out over a year. That gives it a 20 per cent capacity factor…
    For the first time, widespread adoption of renewables is effectively lowering the capacity factor for fossil fuels. That’s because once a solar or wind project is built, the marginal cost of the electricity it produces is pretty much zero-free electricity – while coal and gas plants require more fuel for every new watt produced. If you’re a power company with a choice, you choose the free stuff every time.
    It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. As more renewables are installed, coal and natural gas plants are used less. As coal and gas are used less, the cost of using them to generate electricity goes up. As the cost of coal and gas power rises, more renewables will be installed.
    There are two reasons this shift in capacity factors is important. First, it’s yet another sign of the rising disruptive force of renewable energy in power markets…
    The economic advantages of wind and solar over fossil fuels go beyond price. Still, it’s remarkable that in every major region of the world, the lifetime cost of new coal and gas projects are rising considerably in the second half of 2015, according to BNEF. And in every major region the cost of renewables continues to fall.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/energy/solar-and-wind-power-just-passed-another-big-turning-point-20151006-gk2vn7.html

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      pat mentions this (my bolding here)

      For the first time, widespread adoption of renewables is effectively lowering the capacity factor for fossil fuels. That’s because once a solar or wind project is built, the marginal cost of the electricity it produces is pretty much zero-free electricity – while coal and gas plants require more fuel for every new watt produced. If you’re a power company with a choice, you choose the free stuff every time.
      It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. As more renewables are installed, coal and natural gas plants are used less.

      There’s something really interesting happening here, and as this report comes out of the U.S. then here we can use U.S. data.

      It’s an answer in two parts, the first for Natural Gas, (NG) and the second for Coal Fired Power.

      Firstly, it’s absolutely false that Natural Gas plants are used less. There are more NG plants, as they replace all of those older and smaller coal fired plants, and in fact, almost an exponential build up of them in the U.S. replacing not only the closed coal fired plants, but with a much greater total Nameplate than the coal fired plants they replaced. And they are being fully utilised, in fact on a larger scale than was the case ten years ago, as renewables started to ramp up. The Capacity Factor of NG is rising. These plants are traditionally used on short term, mainly because they can come on line fastest, and usually run for a few hours a day, in the AM, and then again in the late afternoon/evening. Now in fact, they are operational on a greater time basis, mainly because as soon as the wind power falls, then they can come on line the quickest.

      Secondly, with respect to coal fired power, while older and smaller plants are closing, (and wholly replaced by NG) not one plant with a greater Nameplate than 800MW has closed in recent times. However, what is happening here with coal fired power is that the emissions rate from them with respect to the generated power is in fact rising.

      What is happening here is that while the retailers who purchase power for onselling to consumers are FORCED to purchase renewable power then have to purchase their power from renewables when they are generating. Yet, as soon as that renewable power fails, they then fall back on the coal fired power.

      Because renewables are so variable, then while those renewables ARE generating, those coal fired plants are still operational, just not delivering any generated power. They just keep burning and turning, and waiting for the call that they KNOW will come to begin delivering power.

      It’s an easy thing to say, and one which renewable urgers usually scoff at, and say that it’s untrue.

      However the data actually bears it out.

      So, in fact, renewables are the ROOT CAUSE of increasing emissions. They are not lowering them, but causing them to rise.

      The only reason retailers buy Wind power is because they are forced to buy it by law. On top of that, we have the case that for every watt of power being generated by Wind power, the Government pays the wind company a price. That’s on top of what they sell the generated power for. So, wind Companies can sell their electricity at an artificially lowered price, and because of the PTC subsidy, they can still make a profit from the power they sell.

      The emissions rate from coal fired power is rising in the U.S. and the cause is renewable power.

      If that’s not irony, I don’t know what is.

      Tony.

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    Egor TheOne

    Recently found CONsensus related >>>>

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=290&v=Sl9-tY1oZNw

    The Eco – loons have zero credibility !

    And yet trillions are being spent on this medieval religion and global fraud !!!

    10

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    pat

    8 Oct: Energy Matter: Bill Bullish On Australia’s Solar + Storage Potential
    In a speech delivered at the All Energy Australia 2015 conference yesterday, Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten said Australia was an energy superpower with enough renewable resources to power our country “five hundred times over”…
    However, Mr. Shorten acknowledged the situation has now changed and there are brighter days ahead for the sector.
    “Like you, I welcome the fact that the Liberal leadership no longer see wind turbines as a horrifying blight on the landscape; a creeping menace lurking on the horizon,” he said.
    “The muzzling of the far-right’s ideological attack dogs in the clean energy debate is long overdue. And it’s a gesture I’m prepared to accept in good faith.”
    The opposition leader reiterated Labor’s goal of 50 per cent of Australia’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2030…
    The full text of Mr. Shorten’s speech can be viewed here.
    http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/shorten-solar-storage-em5117/

    6 Oct: Business Green: Jessica Shankleman: Zac Goldsmith: I want London to be greenest city on earth
    Mayoral candidate says London needs to do more than ‘merely’ protect environment in Conservative Party conference speech
    The millionaire MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston was confirmed as the Tory Mayoral candidate for the 2016 election on Friday and will go head to head with Labour’s Sadiq Khan…
    “London is already the greatest city on earth, I want it to be the greenest,” he said, adding that every child should have access “to somewhere to play, to grow, to cherish”.
    He said the next mayor would need to “get to grips with” air pollution, which he described as “one of the great menaces of urban life”.
    “We can save thousands of lives every year in part thanks to the creativity of the market. You can already drive from here in Manchester to London City Hall for less than £5 in an all-electric British-made Nissan LEAF,” he said…
    http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2429209/zac-goldsmith-i-want-london-to-be-greenest-city-on-earth

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    pat

    8 Oct: Energy Matter: Bill Bullish On Australia’s Solar + Storage Potential
    In a speech delivered at the All Energy Australia 2015 conference yesterday, Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten said Australia was an energy superpower with enough renewable resources to power our country “five hundred times over”…
    However, Mr. Shorten acknowledged the situation has now changed and there are brighter days ahead for the sector.
    “Like you, I welcome the fact that the Liberal leadership no longer see wind turbines as a horrifying blight on the landscape; a creeping menace lurking on the horizon,” he said.
    ***“The muzzling of the far-right’s ideological attack dogs in the clean energy debate is long overdue. And it’s a gesture I’m prepared to accept in good faith.”
    The opposition leader reiterated Labor’s goal of 50 per cent of Australia’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2030…
    The full text of Mr. Shorten’s speech can be viewed here.
    http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/shorten-solar-storage-em5117/

    6 Oct: Business Green: Jessica Shankleman: Zac Goldsmith: I want London to be greenest city on earth
    Mayoral candidate says London needs to do more than ‘merely’ protect environment in Conservative Party conference speech
    The millionaire MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston was confirmed as the Tory Mayoral candidate for the 2016 election on Friday and will go head to head with Labour’s Sadiq Khan…
    “London is already the greatest city on earth, I want it to be the greenest,” he said, adding that every child should have access “to somewhere to play, to grow, to cherish”.
    He said the next mayor would need to “get to grips with” air pollution, which he described as “one of the great menaces of urban life”.
    “We can save thousands of lives every year in part thanks to the creativity of the market. You can already drive from here in Manchester to London City Hall for less than £5 in an all-electric British-made Nissan LEAF,” he said…
    http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2429209/zac-goldsmith-i-want-london-to-be-greenest-city-on-earth

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    pat

    5 Oct: UK telegraph: Bjorn Lomborg: Britain’s commitment to climate aid is immoral
    There are other, far more severe issues to tackle first, from malnutrition to poverty
    The money – £5.8 billion – is to be diverted from the United Kingdom’s overseas aid budget to its International Climate Fund over the next five years…
    There is something profoundly iniquitous about us meeting the world’s poor and hungry, whose kids lack good schools and are dying from easily curable diseases, in neighborhoods without clean water and sanitation – and we then give them a solar panel…
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/11912242/Britains-commitment-to-climate-aid-is-immoral.html

    7 Oct: Reuters Carbon Pulse: Rich nations reach 62% of $100 bln/yr climate finance goal in 2014 -OECD
    Rich nations channelled $62 billion of climate finance to poorer nations in 2014, slightly over half the amount they committed to provide annually from 2020, according to estimates by the OECD and Climate Policy Initiative.
    “There has been significant progress in meeting this goal,” said a joint report by the two organisations, adding that $52 billion was channelled in 2013…
    •Public finance accounted for more than 70% of 2013-14 flows
    •Mobilised private finance made up more than 25%, export credits the remainder
    •Over three-quarters was to support mitigation, one sixth adaptation, a small share targeting both
    It was published ahead of an Oct. 9 (IMF/World Bank) meeting of many of the world’s finance ministers in Lima, where UN climate chief Christiana Figueres expects donor governments to collectively outline their financial contribution plans…
    But Brandon Wu of development NGO ActionAid insisted that the OECD’s calculations were misleading because they included full loan and private investment amounts that benefitted actors in rich nations and not the developing countries.
    “Counting export credits, the full value of loans, and private investments as climate finance does not serve the needs of people affected by climate change. It only serves the needs of rich country governments that are failing to meet their obligations.”…
    http://carbon-pulse.com/rich-nations-reach-62-of-100-blnyr-climate-finance-goal-in-2014-oecd/

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    pat

    7 Oct: Reuters Carbon Pulse: Australia’s Turnbull govt names new Climate Change Authority chair
    Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government has appointed a new Climate Change Authority chair while doubling the size of the board that oversees the agency, which advises on the country’s GHG reduction targets.
    Former National Farmers Federation head Wendy Craik will take up the role “within weeks”, The Australian newspaper reported on Thursday. Craik has also previously worked as Australia’s Productivity Commissioner, CEO of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority…
    The new board members are:
    •Kate Carnell, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO
    •John Sharp, deputy chairman of Regional Express airlines and a former transport minister under PM John Howard
    •Danny Price, head of Frontier Economics
    •Stuart Allinson, CEO of BidEnergy
    They will join current board members Professors Ian Chubb, David Karoly, Clive Hamilton and John Quiggin…
    http://carbon-pulse.com/australias-turnbull-govt-names-new-climate-change-authority-chair/

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    pat

    7 Oct: Reuters Carbon Pulse: Stian Reklev: Australia proposes quota system to phase down HFC emissions
    Australia on Wednesday released an options paper on measures that could cut emissions from ozone-depleting substances and synthetic GHGs by up to 80 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030, including a quota system for the controlled phase down of HFCs.
    The paper, a result of an 18-month public consultation process, included four options for actions to be taken, ranging from being cost-free to taking actions costing an estimated A$482 million ($346m)…
    The options paper will be out for public consultation until Nov. 16, and the new policy is expected to be finalised early next year.
    http://carbon-pulse.com/australia-proposes-quota-system-to-phase-down-hfc-emissions/

    7 Oct: Reuters Carbon Pulse: Norway increases budget for CER buying as home GHG cuts prove too costly
    By Stian Reklev and Ben Garside
    Norway plans to more than double its spending on CERs next year, a move analysts said could signal a sustained jump in the country’s offset purchases to 2020 as it struggles to cut emissions domestically…
    The Scandinavian nation has a binding Kyoto target to reduce GHG emissions 16% below 1990 levels by 2020, but its annual output has barely changed in the past six years at around 53 million tonnes, leaving it off course towards meeting its goal…
    This would represent a rare boost to demand in the vastly oversupplied CER market, but it is unlikely to impact European exchange-traded prices of around €0.60/tonne because Norway is willing to pay a premium for new and vulnerable CDM projects, often in very poor countries, through bilateral deals…
    Norway is one of only a handful of Annex I governments still buying CERs to meet Kyoto targets.
    With almost all of its power generated from hydroelectric facilities, Norway faces costs of well over €100 per tonne to substantially reduce emissions at home…
    “When it comes to climate and environment, this is one of the worst budgets I’ve ever seen. The budget increase is mainly for the CO2 compensation arrangement and buying offsets. Other measures presented are employment policies that have nothing to do with nature conservation,” said Nina Jensen of WWF Norway
    “You cannot say this is a budget for a green shift in Norway.”
    http://carbon-pulse.com/norway-budgets-e29-million-for-cer-purchases-in-2016/

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    pat

    comment #86 was a repeat – apologies.

    7 Oct: Reuters Carbon Pulse: Ben Garside: EU ETS debate hijacked by carbon leakage -Green MEP, pressure group
    The EU ETS risks repeating mistakes of the past by generous awarding of free carbon allowances to industry when there is scant risk of carbon leakage, Green party MEP Bas Eickhout and environmental campaigners Carbon Market Watch warned on Wednesday.
    Writing in an opinion article for The Parliament magazine on Wednesday, Eickhout’s remarks were in stark contrast to those of centre-right MEP Ivo Belet, who in the same publication a day earlier focused on the need to shield EU industry from carbon leakage…
    She (Carbon Market Watch’s Femke de Jong) added that cement maker Lafarge and steel maker ArcelorMittal had reported combined revenues of almost €1 billion in the last five years from selling surplus EUAs…
    http://carbon-pulse.com/eu-ets-debate-hijacked-by-carbon-leakage-green-mep-pressure-group/

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    Egor TheOne

    CONsensus ……CONsensus……..CONsensus >>>>

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tos677I6224

    Is this the so called settled science we spend trillions on globally ????

    The global fraud needs to end !

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    pat

    7 Oct: Climate Change News: Ed King: ExxonMobil boss warns against tougher climate regulations
    The threat of global warming could be addressed, said Tillerson, by using more natural gas, employing carbon capture (CCS) technologies and investing in energy efficiency measures.
    “Government works best when it maintains a level playing field, opens the door to competition and refrains from picking winners and losers,” he said…
    The head of the largest US oil major made a point of mentioning this year’s Paris climate summit in his address to the Oil and Money summit, an annual gathering of hydrocarbon leaders…
    And he urged policymakers away from adopting tougher greenhouse gas cutting measures, suggesting the best policy was a global “revenue neutral” carbon tax…
    Earlier this year the Guardian revealed Exxon was still channelling millions to climate sceptic lawmakers in Congress, despite a 2008 pledge to quit lobbying on this issue…
    But Tillerson dismissed calls for an end to oil and gas use, a potential outcome at this year’s Paris climate summit, calling fossil fuels a “moral and humanitarian imperative”…
    http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/10/07/exxon-boss-warns-against-tougher-climate-regulations/

    7 Oct: Climate Change News: Ed King: Oil majors to release climate plans on 16 October, says Total chief
    Industry must take offensive with carbon cutting plans to avoid portrayal as “devils”, CEO tells top executives at London conference
    “We cannot ignore the climate change issue… this is why last June we called for a carbon pricing mechanism,” Pouyanne said at the Oil and Money conference in London…
    And he claimed US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil, which declined to join the venture earlier this year, had similar views…
    “We are not far from a full agreement… let’s be clear – most of them have engaged for many years in that debate,” he said.
    Green groups are unlikely to be stunned by next week’s announcement, Pouyanne insisting that oil and gas would be a critical part of the global energy mix in the coming decades…
    ***“Gas is cleaner than others… if (we?) do nothing and we let the market decide we will have more and more coal,” he said.
    http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/10/07/oil-majors-to-release-climate-plans-on-16-october-says-total-chief/

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    pat

    very, very funny…read all:

    7 Oct: Climate Change News: Alex Pashley: Ex-BP chief: Oil majors must heed Volkswagen scandal
    Lord Browne urges fossil fuel giants to prove their worth, as executives downplay climate risk at major industry event
    Major carbon polluters must show they are positive for humanity or face sharp slides in future market worth, according to BP’s former CEO, Lord Browne…
    “Industries come and go depending on their ability to connect with society,” said the British oil company’s chief executive from 1995-2007.
    Fail to do that and risk losing 30% of your value, he warned. “If you don’t believe me, just look at the track of the stock of Volkswagen recently. It’s exactly that.”…
    But by his 5.30pm speech, the audience – heaving during a panel session on oil opportunities in Iran earlier in the day – had thinned out…
    TWEET Alex Pashley: Room thinning out as panel on climate change starts. Oil execs less keen than they were to hear Iran oil prospects…
    ***In a sign of his unfamiliarity with UN climate talks, (OPEC Chief, Abdulla) El-Badri relied on co-panelist and IEA chief Fatih Birol to explain that countries were submitting carbon-cutting pledges ahead of a Paris deal…
    In conservations on the sidelines, executives poured scorn on the idea the global economy would be rid of fossil fuels by 2100…
    http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/10/07/ex-bp-chief-oil-majors-must-heed-volkswagen-scandal/

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    pat

    7 Oct: Sun-Herald: AP: Frank Bajak: IMF Chief: We’re cooked if we fail on climate change
    LIMA, Peru — International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that failure to take urgent action on global warming will condemn humanity to the same fate as the Peruvian poultry that so many delegates to the group’s annual meeting are enjoying this week in a country famed for its cuisine.
    “If we collectively chicken out of this we’ll all turn into chickens and we’ll all be fried, grilled, toasted and roasted,” said Lagarde.
    Her comments came in a panel discussion involving World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, U.N. climate talks executive secretary Christiana Figueres and economist and climate expert Nicholas Stern.
    Lagarde and Kim argued strongly for removing subsidies on fossil fuels that are worth more than $5 trillion a year…
    http://www.sunherald.com/2015/10/07/6454051/imf-chief-were-cooked-if-we-fail.html

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    pat

    much more CAGW background for John Ashe, UN official charged in $1.3 Million Bribery Scheme in New York this week (links in comments above):

    United Nations General Assembly: About the President of the 68th Session
    Biography of H.E. Mr. John W. Ashe
    John W. Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda was elected President of the General Assembly’s sixty-eighth session on 14 June 2013 while serving in the dual capacity as his country’s Permanent Representative to both the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, positions he held since 2004.
    Guided by a passion for sustainable development, Mr. Ashe has been in the forefront of international efforts to address the adverse effects of climate change and the fight to eradicate poverty. He has served in a leadership capacity on many of the governing bodies of the major UN environmental agreements, including as the first Chairman of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also chaired the same Convention’s Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI), and, most recently, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP). “We only have the planet we live on, and if we are to leave it in a reasonable state for the next generation, the quest for a safer, cleaner, and more equitable world is one that should consume us all,” he says, summing up his philosophy…
    He successfully led negotiations that resulted in Chapter X of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development (Rio+10); and co-chaired the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012. In 2004 he presided over the thirteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the body responsible for reviewing programmes on the implementation of Agenda 21—a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection…
    Having joined his country’s Foreign Service in 1989, Mr. Ashe was awarded the Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) by Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom) in 2007, in recognition of his global diplomatic service…
    (He) holds a Doctorate in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania (United States).
    http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/68/about/

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    pat

    on to Francis Lorenzo:

    7 Oct: DNA India: Reuters: Ex-UN General Assembly head John Ashe, 5 others face US bribery case
    The intermediaries included ***Francis Lorenzo, 48, a deputy U.N. ambassador from the Dominican Republic who prosecutors said Ng paid $20,000 monthly as “honorary president” of one of his organizations, South-South News…
    Prosecutors said those bribes were arranged through Sheri Yan, chief executive officer of a New York-based organization, and Heidi Park, its finance director, who were also arrested. The organization was unnamed, but the ***Global Sustainability Foundation website lists Yan and Park as holding those positions. The foundation did not respond to requests for comment…
    At a hearing late Tuesday, a federal judge set Ashe’s bail at $1 million on condition be placed under house arrest, despite concerns by prosecutors that he posed a flight risk.
    Robert Van Lierop, his lawyer, said Ashe intends to “assert the full range of immunity” to which he is entitled and would fight the charges. Brian Bieber, Lorenzo’s lawyer, said his client “acted in good faith at all times and believed in the integrity of what he was told by those involved…READ ALL
    http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-ex-un-general-assembly-head-john-ashe-5-others-face-us-bribery-case-2132306

    following. note the participation of Associated Press’s Edith (Edie) M. Lederer, whose CAGW articles i’ve been posting for years:

    1 July: UN: Small Island Developing States Face ‘Unique’ Sustainability Challenges Requiring ‘Special’ Attention to Meet Post-2015 Agenda Goals, High-level Forum Hears
    Panel Discussion II
    In the afternoon, the Forum held a panel discussion, titled “Reaching out to the world: communicating the agenda”.
    …it featured the four panellists.
    They were ***Francis Lorenzo, Ambassador and Honorary President of South-South News, Dominican Republic etc…
    Serving as lead discussants were ***Edie Lederer, Senior Correspondent, Associated Press…
    Mr. LORENZO said more producers, editors, photographers and others in the areas of journalism and communication must be given tools and training to be able to understand the sustainable development goals and communicate them. A New York University professor in television journalism noted the importance of story-telling and bringing human faces to the fore of content…
    Ms. LEDERER said that at the World Economic Forum in January 2014, Bono shouted out “I hated it”, when he was asked about the name “sustainable development goals”. The United Nations should run a worldwide campaign to come up with a new name for those goals. In today’s world, everything was competing for time. Major news organizations were now using much shorter stories than in the past, she pointed out, asking how journalists could write about 17 goals in a 400-word story. The new agenda was a “hard sell” and, instead of focusing on 17 goals, the United Nations should pick out 4, 5 or 6 goals that were critically important…
    http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/ecosoc6706.doc.htm

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    pat

    7 Oct: Indian Express: AP: Former UN General Assembly president John Ashe charged in bribery scheme
    U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara repeatedly noted that it was early in the investigation and told reporters that as it proceeds: “We will be asking: Is bribery business as usual at the U.N.?”
    ***U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see other people charged.”
    http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-others/former-un-general-assembly-president-john-ashe-charged-in-bribery-scheme/

    given more people may be charged, it’s worth noting:

    7 Oct: BlackStarNews Uganda: Milton Allimadi: Edith Kutesa, Wife Of Uganda Foreign Minister, On Board Of Company Whose Chair Arrested In US Alleged $1.3M Bribe Scheme
    Sam Kutesa, whose term as president of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) just ended in September met earlier this year with an associate of the Chinese billionaire arrested by US authorities and charged with bribing Kutesa’s predecessor John Ashe with payments totaling $1.3 million to advance development schemes…
    Additionally Mr. Kutesa’s wife Edith Kutesa is listed as Vice Chairman of Global Sustainability Foundation (GSF) one of the New York-based NGOs the U.S. alleges was used to conceal the multi-million dollars bribe-scheme…
    Mr. Haq also didn’t comment on the nature of and purpose of Mr. Kutesa’s meeting in China this year with Ms. Yan during an official trip before his term expired as president of the UN General Assembly.The Black Star News was not able to get responses from Mr. Kutesa…
    Separately, Kutesa himself has profited handsomely from the United Nations.
    Between 2008 and 2013 his private company Entebbe Handling Services (ENHAS) billed the UN at least $29.2 million. The UN hasn’t responded to several inquiries from The Black Star News about possible fraud and conflict of interest in awarding a multi-million dollar contract to a company owned by a sitting foreign minister; the U.S. Attorney also declined to comment on whether its probe of the UN covers the ENHAS contracts.
    http://www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justice/edith-kutesa-wife-of-uganda-foreign-minister-on-board-of-company

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    pat

    7 Oct: WSJ: U.N. Says It Can’t Probe Graft Scandal
    United Nations is reviewing bribery charges against diplomats but hasn’t launched an internal investigation
    By Farnaz Fassihi and Christopher M. Matthews
    The U.N. on Wednesday said that it was “studying the complaints” and would cooperate with U.S. authorities but the organization didn’t have the mandate or power to investigate individuals or entities that weren’t considered staff or part of the official U.N. umbrella, said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the secretary-general.
    Diplomats aren’t legally bound to U.N. ethical codes and follow the laws of their home countries, Mr. Dujarric and other U.N. officials said. The U.N.’s internal watchdog, Office of Internal Oversight Services, can audit and investigate only U.N. staff members, they said…
    The current scandal, where high-ranking diplomats of member states were indicted and arrested on corruption charges, was unprecedented, he added…
    Robert M. Appleton, who headed a now-disbanded special task force created by the U.N. to investigate corruption, said that the notion that the U.N. couldn’t investigate high-level diplomats was a red herring. “The use of U.N. funds is something the U.N. can and should be policing,” Mr. Appleton said. “When they express surprise, like they did yesterday, that itself is somewhat surprising, because they’ve struggled with corruption issues for years.”…
    “The role of the U.N. keeps going backwards,” said Samer Sanbar, a former U.N. official. “There were red flags throughout this scandal, someone should have noticed.”
    http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-n-says-it-cant-probe-graft-scandal-1444265786

    7 Oct: Macau Business Daily: Ng’s alleged bribery triggers ex-UN General Assembly president’s arrest
    with Reuters & Bloomberg
    Diplomatic immunity
    Ashe was also charged with failing to report US$1.2 million in income, including the bribes, to the Internal Revenue Service. It’s the only charge which wouldn’t be covered by diplomatic immunity, although he waived that privilege when he applied to be a permanent resident in the U.S. in 2000, according to the complaint.
    After his arrest, Ashe told investigators he had accepted bribes, prosecutor Daniel Richenthal said in court. “Over the course of years he accepted millions of dollars in bribes in various forms, some of which he admitted after he was arrested today,” Richenthal said.
    He may have residual immunity for acts that were done within the scope of his official positions, the U.S. said…
    “If proven, today’s charges will confirm that the cancer of corruption that plagues so many state and local governments infects the United Nations as well,” Bharara said.
    http://macaubusinessdaily.com/Society/Ng%E2%80%99s-alleged-bribery-triggers-ex-UN-General-Assembly-president%E2%80%99s-arrest

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    pat

    Inner City Press might be considered “progressive left”, but Lee does some great work on the UN & other “global” bodies.
    well worth a read in full:

    7 Oct: Inner City Press: Scandal Expands, Ashe Chief of Staff With Lykketoft, No Audits of PGA?
    By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive follow-up
    http://www.innercitypress.com/un7corruption100715.html

    some other interesting articles on the homepage.

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    Bob

    Jo,

    I continued watching to see your comments on TPP. Very good point to say that things like the TPP are stealing the name of proper free trade. Proper free trade does not need 30 chapters of terms and conditions.

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    John

    Sorry Jo, you were the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter of the Tony Abbott legacy executed by the ABC. And to the resurrection of Tim Flannery and hail to the new Emperor Turnbull.

    Good on you for going on and believing you were going to get a fair go BUT it is no good telling us NOW. You have to get your points across to the ABC audience THERE and THEN when you have the chance. With a talking typewriter like Lord Deben who the ABC are going to let smash you onto the ropes you have to fight fire with fire. No good trying to be nice – if you believe in what you are saying say it with passion. Sure, most of what he was saying was hyped up alarmism but he made you look apologetic to the ABC audience who I am sure were loving every moment.

    But keep up the good work, the more you do this sort of thing, especially in the enemy camp, the better you will get your points across.

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    BilB

    Jo, you received huge generosity of time share for your presentation, in fact six times your three percent science consensus share, so you were treated more than fairly. It might have helped your case if you had anything substantive to argue other than our population is going up quickly. You had the floor,..there was your opportunity to declare to the world that your guy,..David Evans, “has new science that climate change is all lies”,…why didn’t you say that?

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    Richard Barnett

    Jo,
    You did quit well, I would have definitely suggested Prime Minister Turnbull to give up his present position to become an ambassador to any country if it meant leaving his present position. He would not have lost his citizenship of course and could come back to visit.
    Now about China and future emissions. China has produced many green forms of electrical generation and has exported them to other countries. That’s what they do. I belive they have every intention to develop many more technologies and export them as well. They will continue to build coal fired power plants at an alarming rate with much better emmisions to clean up their atmosphere just so pedestrians and motorist can see where they are going.
    Lord Demon—E has consumed the cool aid and has no business advising Australia that their proposed emission cuts are inadequate. UK is running scared with the wind refusing to blow and the sun refusing to shine. Plans to curtail power to factories and operating standby diesel generators to try to meet winter electricity demand does little to support industry or control cost for consumers. It is a shame that The Drum has such a format that disalows open debate. You would have had comunicated points that would have benefited many viewers.
    But then wait, my carbon foot print can be seen from space. I have worked at fossil fuel power plants including coal fired plants for 41 years, operate a beef production business, and believe that carbon dioxide emissions are nothing but beneficial.

    00