Doomsday rhetoric unleashed

ACT independent senator David Pocock’s proposed private senator’s bill to protect young people from climate change by forcing the government to assess the impact of greenhouse gases when new projects are assessed has drawn plenty of support from alarmists. The prospect of an avalanche of green tape has prompted teals to outdo one another in doomsday rhetoric. On Twitter, Zoe Daniel (Goldstein) likened Australians to “frogs in a pot”, citing “runaway global warming” as “an existential threat to the future of our children”. Zali Steggall (Warringah) borrowed the phrase “global boiling”, lamenting that Sydney had not done enough to prepare for lethal heat. Monique Ryan (Kooyong), who described the climate change news as “frightening”, said: “As a paediatric neurologist, I had a duty to care for my young patients. As an MP, I have an even greater duty to care for future generations. Well done @DavidPocock for putting together such an important bill at such a vital time.”

It was no surprise Senator Pocock told ABC audiences to “turn on the news, look what’s happening in Europe, and it’s only going to get worse unless we see the kind of leadership and decision-making that acts in the interests of all of us”. Employing doomsday language when extreme weather occurs and ramping up public fear is part of a strategy of ideologically driven extremists to demand radical action from politicians, however costly or impractical.

Graham Lloyd exposed the phenomenon in Inquirer in January, citing the Climate Council’s 2022 annual report. “During the 2022 flooding emergency … our work with journalists, spokespeople and the media helped reinforce the narrative that climate change underpins the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather disasters … putting pressure on the federal government for greater policy ambition,” it said. “We secured more than 1000 media hits and helped to cumulatively shift the discourse from no discussion around climate change at the onset of the disaster, to flooding being explicitly linked to climate as coverage progressed.” As US climate scientist Judith Curry told Lloyd: “Every extreme weather event is now attributed to global warming, even extreme cold outbreaks and heavy snow.” Professor Curry is also concerned about young people and the psychological harm of climate alarmism.

Cutting emissions through efficient, economically sustainable technology makes sense. This is why nuclear power initiatives should not be ruled out. Hot air, however, contributes nothing to the process.