There’s been a flurry of climate sceptics voicing their opinions in the media in recent weeks, a reminder that this debate is still alive and well. While the majority of Australia’s political leaders now acknowledge the fact of human-induced climate change and the threat it poses, it appears that some people still doubt the phenomenon exists.
The lynchpin of the climate sceptic’s argument is that climate science can’t be proven. The basic variants of climate scepticisim are that: 1) human-induced global warming can’t be proven beyond a doubt, eg. that we can’t prove that it’s not a natural phenomenon, and/or 2) there is scientific evidence to the contrary, eg. evidence that suggests that the Earth is in fact cooling not warming.
However, as one climate sceptic rightly points out in a forum on Online Opinion, scientific theories can never be proved, only disproved, and herein lies the problem with the climate sceptic argument. It is misguided to think of climate change as a purely scientific question, because the issue is not about proving whether it’s happening or not. There is very good scientific evidence, approaching international consensus, to suggest that human-induced global warming is happening – good enough to convince the United Nations, scientists and political leaders around the world. Given that we may never reach total consensus on the science, the issue now is about assessing the risks and deciding on an appropriate course of action.
The time for scientific debate has passed. Even assuming that global warming may not be real, we are now faced with a moral, not a scientific, question. The threat it poses creates an urgent timeframe for action. What we need to decide immediately is whether we are willing to risk a minimal inconvenience and effect on our hip pockets to avoid the incomparably greater risk of the collapse of the Earth’s ecosystems.
We need to stop the speculation and get on with the task of minimising the greatest risk humanity has yet faced. Who wants to gamble with their children’s future?
