Christopher Monckton’s denial that climate change is human induced is like a snake oil salesman telling you what is easier to hear. Only that this salesman is paid for by those who have a vested interest in people not facing reality says Tracey Carpenter President of Bathurst Community Climate Action Network.

She says the antics of the British classics scholar and hereditary peer would be amusing if his views were not so dangerous.

Lord Monckton acknowledges climate change and that it is serious; but the line he is selling is that our industrial pollution and carbon emissions play no role. The reality is that there are 7 billion people on the planet and growing, and the staggering increases in carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane we have generated as by-products of the industrial revolution can be well illustrated from 1850 onwards. These gases are proven to create the greenhouse effect on our climate. Telling people carbon pollution is no problem is like selling snake oil but unfortunately there is no placebo effect in buying his argument. He is merely delaying people from acting to ensure a better future for their children, says Tracey Carpenter.

His strategy is not unlike the old tobacco lobby’s – which in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence continued to sow seeds of doubt in the public mind. “They couldn’t refute the evidence, but they could create the illusion of scientific controversy. That’s exactly what Monckton is doing for the fossil fuel industry.”

Monckton’s activities are funded by organisations with direct links to the fossil fuel industry, said Ms Carpenter. “By deliberately obscuring the science in the public mind and denying the impact of carbon pollution they further endanger our planet to protect their own investment and profits,” Ms Carpenter said.

Instead of paying to listen to Lord Monckton this Friday night, Ms Carpenter said people would get more out of attending Green Drinks at Rahamim (5.30pm at 34 Busby Street). Three qualified local speakers will present the latest information on practical steps to slow the rate of climate change and adapt to it by adopting renewable energy in the Bathurst region.

“BCCAN is also holding a solar barbecue lunch at the Flannery Centre on Sunday (12.30-2.30pm) to celebrate the 1.5 million Australian homes that now have solar power. Everyone is welcome,” said Ms Carpenter. “Whilst Monckton is politicising the science, many of us are simply getting on with making the changes needed.”