James Shaw, Minister for Climate Change, appoints new Climate Lords to the NZ Climate Change Commission. The NZ Climate Science Coalition says it contravenes the legislation that spawned the Commission. This is the NZCSC press release.
From the desk of Chairman, Barry Brill, OBE
Email: barry.brill@gmail.com
Climate Change Commission ”Fatally Undermined” by Appointment of Careerists and Campaigners
The potential credibility and standing of the Climate Change Commission announced by Minister James Shaw has been fatally undermined by the inclusion of four full-time climate change careerists and campaigners, according to the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition.
The statutory role of the Commission is to provide independent evidence-based advice on those long-term policies which will most effectively abate emissions and promote adaptation. Its key role is to budget emissions abatement to tolerable levels of economic pain.
In recruiting candidates, the Ministry for the Environment declared it was ‘looking for exceptional governance leaders’ and needed ‘the best quality talent.’ It noted that the Commission ‘will have a significant role in guiding Aotearoa New Zealand’s economic transition towards a low emissions economy.’
These four activists, all of whom are very far from being ‘governance leaders’, know nothing at all about economic transitions.
Catherine Leining cannot possibly be seen as independent. An ex-employee of the Ministry who helped design the ETS, and acted as a UN climate negotiator, she proudly declares that she ‘has been trained as a Climate Leader under The Climate Reality Project launched by Al Gore.’
Harry Clark is no less dependent. As the Government-appointed director of the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, he is at the centre of the many arguments dividing Minister Shaw’s position from that of the farming community.
James Renwick is New Zealand’s most outspoken climate change activist – well known as the go-to guy when the media need a quote from a climate zealot.
Judy Lawrence is an academic working under Renwick, who could scarcely be less independent of the Government. She is currently the Ministry’s appointee on the IPCC as well as being the co-author of Ministry guidebooks.
The rationale for having a Commission is that it could do what the Government’s existing resources cannot. It could make authoritative and acceptable decisions in difficult politicised areas. It could give fair hearings to competing experts and display the wisdom of Solomon. It could provide leadership when hard choices are made involving economic upheaval and financial distress.
This Commission can deliver none of those benefits. It will be seen for what it is — the same old Ministry in a mask. Or the Green Party with an extended term.
Barry Brill
Commentary
Our primary climate legislation now says, having been amended by our bright new Minister for Climate Change — torn from co-leader (which is no leader) of the Green Party and thrust into a governing position by our king-maker Winston Peters — that one of the purposes of the Commission is to provide independent, expert advice to the Government on mitigating climate change.
So there you have it in a nutshell. Actually, that’s a pretty large nut, but I can shrink it further.
The Climate Change Commission (CCC) must tell the government what to do.
From an expert point of view.
Views: 174
I read James Shaw press release about these commissioners.
Here is his description of Judy Lawrence:
• Dr. Judith Lawrence, a thought leader with international expertise in climate change adaptation
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1912/S00160/expert-advisors-on-future-emission-reductions-announced.htm
What the hell is a thought leader? I thought.
So, I thought I should look it up…
and it’s marketing babble-speak for someone “who proselytizes their worldview to anyone within earshot”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_leader
God help us . We are in for a very rough time for absolutely no purpose. It will make as much sense as the self flagellating religious fanatics of an earlier era. One can only hope that as the economic disruption starts to hurt we will have enough civil unrest to reverse this madness.
Well the first thing that any Climate commission should do is look at the evidence that says that half of New Zealands emissions of greenhouse gases are from our farmed animals .
I told the Select committee on the Zero Carbon Bill that biogenic methane emissions add not one atom of carbon as CO2 or CH4 to the atmosphere .
All forage eaten by farmed animals has absorbed CO2 from the air and the small amount of methane emitted is quickly broken down into CO2 and water vapour ,
The process is a cycle and there is no way that biogenic methane should ever have been lumped in with fossil fuel extraction and combustion .
There is no evidence to support the claim from the UN that biogenic methane should be included in any countries emission profiles .
This was introduced at the Kyoto climate meeting by green activists and accepted without any scientific or statistical scrutiny .
They even wrote a paper ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow ‘ to justify their claims
This commission will do nothing as they are a fop to the Greens and we will all be paying them to wreck our economy and bring famine to the poorer nations of the world .
Graham Anderson.
Proud to be a farmer and helping feed the world with milk and beef products.
A very useful comment, Graham. Methane is dominated by water vapour as a GHG and cannot possibly contribute to any warming. The Sheahen and Allison paper debunks any claims about Methane being a problem.
It is difficult to see how the Commission as nominated will add any value to any debate on climate change and the ZCB as worded seems to preclude anyone being able to get in the door to debate the problem.
All seven of the Climate Change Commissioners are from the public sector and the majority are academics. They certainly don’t look like practical problem-solvers. None of them have ever worked a day of their lives in any of the wealth-creating sectors of New Zealand (except that one is a part-time farmer).
None of them have any background in policy-making at either the local or national level. They are not data analysts or expert statisticians. They have no oceanographic or engineering or architecture or surveying skills relevant to adaptation planning or building resilience to feared changes in weather.
This is a group dominated by theoretical climate science : apologists for the view that global warming is caused by humans. And that is very curious, because Minister Shaw has constantly hammered the view that “the time for arguing the science is over. Now we must focus on what we are going to do about it.” The time has come to move from talking to action.
This group couldn’t have the faintest idea of how to lead “transformation” that does not come at the expense of economic growth. They dwell in a narrow groupthink bubble that cannot fairly represent New Zealanders who live in the real world of business and employment and aspirations for a better life.
Barry Brill: “apologists for the view that global warming is caused by humans.”
Man’s gods salute you and ask your address for delivery of pixie dust.
https://hintermbusch.wordpress.com/2019/12/01/climate-conference-munich-2019/
From another Conference that had to hide from the evil ones………. Brett