Jennifer Marohasy » Clarifying the Role of the Sun and Global Temperatures

YESTERDAY atmospheric scientist, Professor Marvin Geller, explained to Leigh Dayton, science writer at The Australian newspaper, that the sun could not be driving “recent global warming as climate change sceptics claim” because solar radiation has not changed very much since 1978.

But climate change sceptics do not claim there has been recent global warming. They claim there has been a levelling off, or fall in temperatures, over the last 10 years since the 1998 El Nino-driven peak.

Bravo: Roger Helmer warns of the "devastating effect" of the EU's climate change policies

Roger Helmer MEP, Chairman of The Freedom Association, has led the growing opposition to the EU's plans to destroy jobs through its draconian attempts to reduce CO2 emissions. Here is the speech he made in the European "Parliament" today:

"I have no doubt that we are facing the greatest threat we have seen in my lifetime. That threat is posed not by global warming, but our policy responses to it.

The world has certainly been warming, slightly and intermittently, for the last 150 years. But that warming is entirely consistent with well established, natural, long-term climate cycles established over thousands of years.

We have seen the Holocene Maxima, the Roman Optimum, the Mediaeval Warm Period. We now seem to be entering a new 21st Century Climate Optimum.

The fact is that sea level is rising no faster than it has done for centuries. The fact is that total global ice mass is broadly constant. The fact is that extreme weather events are no more common now than they were a century ago.

The Polar Bear, far from facing extinction, has seen a massive population increase in recent decades.

Change comes to New Zealand: some specifics

Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith confirmed to NZPA that officials were working towards scrapping biofuels obligations.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday indicated National would not progress the former Labour Government's plan to implement a new standard for lightbulbs, which would see old incandescent lightbulbs phased out by the end of next year.

National never committed to a 15 year $1 billion fund to insulate homes, which Labour had promised but had not included in the budget.

Labour Party climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel said those factors came on top of more major developments; such as National's decision to suspend the emissions trading scheme (ETS).