Tony Abbott told a Liberal Party dinner in 2009 that he thought the science of Human-induced climate change was “crap”. In his book ‘Battlelines’, again from 2009, he stated that: “Whether humans have had a significant impact on the climate as a whole is much less clear. Climate change is a relatively new political issue, but it’s been happening since the earth’s beginning”. Subsequent statements such as “in Roman times, grapes were widely grown in Britain” and “in medieval times Greenland supported agriculture” are well-worn climate change denier statements and another example of Tony Abbott relating something which is either misleading or untrue. It is doubtful that he actually understands enough about climate change to be able to fabricate a lie.
The Greenland statement is misleading insofar as it was only cattle which were grown for food, and these only in the slightly warmer fjordlands. The climate change deniers often state that there was a Medieval Warm Period, as if to indicate that the earth as a whole was warmer at that time. However, it was not, with most of the warming concentrated around the North Atlantic (and therefore Greenland). Indeed, the name Greenland is perhaps an early case of false advertising by Eric the Red who called the land Greenland in the hope that ‘more people would go thither if the country had a beautiful name’.
Although Abbott has stated subsequently that he does accept the science of climate change, it is difficult to accept that he means it because, when he was Prime Minister, he scrapped the carbon tax, refused to send a minister to the Warsaw climate talks, attempted to slash the renewable energy target, closed the Climate Council, attempted to close the Climate Change Authority, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and initially refused to invest in the Green Climate Fund, largely removed the words “climate change” from the Intergenerational Report, and cut back on climate research. In addition, he appointed well known climate change denier and comb-over fan, Maurice Newman as the chair of his business advisory council. Indeed, it was Newman who, in the Australian, blamed the left (of the Liberal Party!) for attempting to have Abbott removed in part because he was not of the “global warming faith”. It is difficult to know what to do with buffoons like that.
Perhaps Abbot’s recent stated belief in climate science is just another of his numerous lies. This assertion is perhaps supported by his most recent snipe at Malcolm Turnbull calling for the scrapping of the renewable energy target.
See:
https://www.skepticalscience.com/greenland-used-to-be-green.htm
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/tony-abbott-doesnt-believe-it
Some primary literature:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gauthier/farming_Greenland.pdf
