Toby Young Climate Science Own Goal

[Update at end of post]

The climate change denial circle jerk took a step into the real world yesterday as the loathsome Toby Young decided to pontificate about the climbing of the Shard by a group of Greenpeace activists earlier in the day. Tobes’ main contention was that the whole thing was terribly sexist, as all the climbers were women. That they may have been an experienced team who chose to work together did not enter.

Try writing before the vino, Tobes

Then, after doing his best saloon bar bore act and coming to the defence of the ha-lay-dees, Tobes takes issue with climate change science: “the evidence that burning fossil fuels is responsible for the melting of the Arctic sea ice is heavily contested”. Note the clumsy logic leap: Arctic sea ice melts because of higher temperatures. The reasons for those are complex, although carbon emissions are a contributory factor.

So where’s his evidence? “See this reverse ferret by one of Britain's leading climate scientists, for instance”. The reference is to an article in the Mail On Sunday – climate denial central – by Myles Allen, who does not demur from the notion that carbon emissions are contributing to warming temperatures. That’s right, Tobes’ citation that is supposed to prove his point does not prove his point at all.

Moreover, Allen’s preferred solution is “a law to compel a slowly rising percentage of carbon dioxide emissions to be sequestered and stored”. That means what is known as “carbon capture and storage”. And note the phrase “by law”, Tobes and fellow libertarians. Sadly for Tobes, who may not have bothered to read beyond the headline of the MoS piece, that is not what he and his pals want.

Tobes has also recently gushingly reviewed the book Watermelons by his bestest buddy James “saviour of Western civilisation” Delingpole, telling that “I wasn't a hardened climate change sceptic before I read this book - but now I am! Not only does Delingpole write beautifully, he methodically takes apart the ‘scientific’ case for anthropogenic global warning and exposes the hidden Left-wing agenda”.

So what Del Boy says is OK by Tobes. And what Delingpole says about carbon capture and storage is explicit, and on the record. In one of his periodic rants at the Coalition, he pontificated “Our economy continues to tank, in good part because of the Coalition's suicidal policy in favour of renewables, biomass-burning, carbon capture and storage”. Yes, it’s part of a “suicidal policy”.

That means Toby Young is suggesting that increased carbon emissions don’t work through into higher temperatures, citing in evidence someone who says the opposite, and whose preferred solution is then rubbished by one of his biggest pals. If only Tobes had bothered to do a few minutes’ research beforehand, but as he’s one of those clever people who talk loudly in restaurants, he doesn’t need to.

Pity the climate change deniers. They’re too busy shooting themselves in the foot.

[UPDATE 1440 hours: when Toby Young announced his post on Twitter, he did not fare any better than his analysis has done above. There were several comments in response, but hardly one had a good word to say for him.

If anyone has profited from Tobes' writings, it appears to have been Greenpeace, and the group of climbers who took part in the protest in support of their campaign.

And there were plenty of suggestions as to the "something" that Tobes might have been "missing". Going to block them as well, eh Tobes? That'll be more of that inconvenient free speech, then]