Watts to lead climate change talk | Noosa News | Local News in Noosa

Back in January, Lord Monckton visited Noosa to debunk to the government’s climate change doctrine. Tonight another cimate change sceptic, Anthony Watts, will address a gathering at Australis Noosa Lakes.

Geoff Potter

Noosa’s growing reputation as a hotbed of climate change scepticism continues to simmer as US meteorologist Anthony Watts comes to town today.

The raging climate debate in town has barely settled down since the Australian tour of arch climate change sceptic Lord Monckton was organised by a band of Noosa supporters.

Tonight at 7pm in the Australis Noosa Lakes convention centre, Mr Watts will head a trio of guest speakers meant to deflate the government “mumbo jumbo” on global warming.

On Tuesday Mr Watts told the Noosa News that his main message was that climate sceptics cared just as much about the planet as the global warming advocates.

“The earth has been through much warmer periods in the past and has had a lot higher concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere,” Mr Watts said.

“So there really is no need to panic.”

Doonan “earth scientist” Peter Hocking is behind the Noosa tour which has slipped under the radar to a great degree compared to the high-profile Monckton visit.

But Mr Hocking said there has been a good word-of-mouth response as well as a high degree of awareness generated by the former TV weatherman’s much-read blog.

Mr Hocking said his special guest is most famous for organising a people power survey of more than 1000 weather stations across America that has often found them located close to artificial heat sources.

Mr Watts will present his case tonight as to why these official temperature records are unreliable.

Also on the bill will be David Archibald, an Australian-based scientist who will expand on his views that the world will continue to cool and why carbon dioxide will not make a detectable difference to temperatures.

The other speaker is Dr David Stockwell, a climate scientist who will argue that the climate change data contradicts warming models and “how the CSIRO has got it wrong”.

Mr Hocking said Noosa-based climate change sceptics are now working on programs to try to win over young people who usually are firm believers in climate change.

“Most of the people who are sceptics are usually aged 50 and over who are not prepared to swallow all the mumbo jumbo the government presents as scientific fact,” Mr Hocking said.

The promotional material for tonight’s “Watts Up With The Climate” address claims that despite government’s shelving of the Emissions Trading Scheme, it was still spending $2 billion “solving” climate change.