8 May 2007
Mayors fall into “carbon trap”
"The Auckland and Waitakere mayors have fallen into the carbon trap laid by the likes of the Green Party and Greenpeace,
in adding their voices to the unproven myth that emissions of carbon dioxide will threaten the survival of the planet,
said Rear Admiral Jack Welch, chairman of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.
"The Auckland City Council has released a media statement referring to climate change as 'the monster in the living
room.' The really monstrous reality is that leaders such as the two mayors are rushing to get on a global warming
bandwagon for which there is no valid verifiable scientific proof. The first thing they should check is New Zealand's
official temperature and sea level records, where they will find that the country has been cooling since the El Nino of
1998, and the levels of the Waitemata Harbour have remained about the same for the past 100 years.
"What is needed in this present climate of hysteria are voices of reason and reality, especially from leaders who should
know better. They should study the science which, even at its most pessimistic in reports such as published by the IPCC
are unable to produce solid evidence that the planet is at risk from anything other than the minor rises and falls of
temperature which occur in natural cycles every 30 years or so.
"For starters, before these two mayors start talking about carbon pricing and trading, instead of going to gabfests in
Australia, they would do well to study what's happening in Europe where there's been some experience of this activity.
Admiral Welch said that a few days ago, the influential British newspaper, the Financial Times, published the results of
its investigation into carbon trading. The article included these findings:
"Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on 'carbon credit' projects that yield few if
any environmental benefits.
"A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases, suggesting
some organizations are paying for emissions reductions that do not take place.
"Others are meanwhile making big profits from carbon trading for very small expenditure and in some cases for clean-ups
that they would have made anyway.
"The growing political salience of environmental politics has sparked a 'green gold rush', which has seen a dramatic
expansion in the number of businesses offering both companies and individuals the chance to go 'carbon neutral',
offsetting their own energy use by buying carbon credits that cancel out their contribution to global warming.
"The burgeoning regulated market for carbon credits is expected to more than double in size to about DLR 68.2bn by 2010,
with the unregulated voluntary sector rising to DLR 4bn in the same period."
Admiral Welch said the mayors would serve their communities better by learning the difference between harmless gases and
the sooty particulate emissions of some smokestacks and all motor vehicles that are polluting the air. "Clean air is a
clear and present need; it's something that is man-made, and it's something that we can fix. It has nothing to do with
global warming. We don't need computer models to tell us that this is a problem, so let's get on and fix it.
ENDS