Pope's Climate Change Appeal Boosts Hope For Bipartisan Action In Congress

The Guardian - Suzanne Goldenberg

Climate campaigners applaud pope’s bridging of environmental issues with moral obligation as way to force Republican party leaders to reconsider position


Pope Francis calls on the US – and Congress – to lead the charge in efforts to combat climate change.

It just took one utterance from Pope Francis – “earth” – to rouse cheers from the climate campaigners who had gathered on the Mall to watch the pope’s historic speech to Congress.
The pope’s visit to what remains a fortress of climate denial among the Republican party leadership greatly boosted hopes among campaigners of elevating climate change from a narrow, partisan issue to a matter of broad public concern.
As Francis appeared on the large screen, several thousand campaigners – some carrying quotes from his encyclical on the environment on large banners trimmed in Vatican yellow, a contingent of animal rights activists dressed as nuns – whooped and cheered.
“We’re excited about the pope being here, especially his saying that climate change is not a partisan issue, and that we have a moral obligation to act,” said Ashley Aguirre, 20, and a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, who had travelled from Richmond for the rally.
Although there was only a very brief mention of the environment in his speech to Congress – he avoided a direct clash with Republican party leaders by diving into climate change deeply in his visit to the White House on Wednesday – the pope still managed to emphasise two clear points. He re-affirmed that human activity was driving climate change, and that political leaders needed to act.
“I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play,” the pope said. “Now is the time for creative actions and strategies aimed at implementing “a culture of care”.
Francis’s intervention has produced some new alliances in the climate camp, with faith groups now coming together with civil rights campaigners and traditional environmental supporters.
His appearance in Congress came a day after his endorsement of Barack Obama’s clean power plant plan – arguably one of the biggest targets of Republicans in both houses as well as on the presidential campaign trail.
More than half of Republicans in Congress deny the existence of climate change, or oppose government regulations to cut carbon pollution.
Environmental campaigners had been thrilled at the prospect of the pope reprising his powerful message for climate action from the encyclical in front of Republican Catholics, such as house speaker John Boehner.
The musician Moby, one of the performers at the climate rally, called it “Pope-enfreude”. “Basically,

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it’s watching crazy rightwing anti-environmental Republicans who have always hidden behind religion actually be held accountable,” he told The Guardian. “To have people like [Republican presidential candidates] Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio watch the head of their church come out as an outspoken environmentalist – it’s just satisfying to me watching them squirm.”
Jairo Diaz, an artist who had come from Fort Lauderdale with a canvas of Christ, said he hoped the pope’s presence in the US – just after his encyclical and before the Paris climate negotiations – could help advance prospects of climate action. “It’s a blessing that the pope is here at this moment in this country,” he said.
Even the very mention of the words climate change are awkward for Republicans, who have typically aligned with the Catholic church on social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, and now find themselves out of step with the pope.
By the time of Francis’s speech to Congress, campaigners dared to believe there was already a pope effect taking hold.
“Just by being here, he is forcing the discussion on climate change,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. “With the pope coming out strong and really leaning into climate change, this is about trying to further shift the US discussion particularly in the Republican party, and get more conservatives talking about climate change.”

Bureau of Meteorology Defends Climate Data

Fairfax - Lisa Cox
 
The Bureau of Meteorology has defended the accuracy of its climate records after documents released under freedom-of-information laws showed the Abbott government considered investigating its estimates on global warming.
The agency said that while it welcomed scrutiny of its scientific work "the bureau has always confidently maintained that it has not altered climate records to exaggerate estimates of global warming".
The comments come after documents released to the ABC showed former prime minister Tony Abbott's department discussed investigating the bureau's climate data following claims in The Australian newspaper last year that the bureau was "wilfully ignoring evidence that contradicts its own propaganda".
 

A weather bureau source said forecasters were instructed to be "more careful" when discussing climate change after Tony Abbott was elected. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

The inquiry, had it proceeded, would have been carried out by a taskforce in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet established to consider Australia's post-2020 emissions reduction targets.
One bureau source told Fairfax Media that forecasters were instructed to be "more careful" when discussing climate change after Mr Abbott was elected in 2013.
The source said the instructions were unofficial but passed down through government channels.
"It was common knowledge that the Liberal Party were not as convinced about climate change,

Illustration: Ron Tandberg

and they just asked us not to be too keen about all these records being broken all the time," the source said.
Seven of Australia's 10 warmest years on record occurred in the past 13 years.
The bureau has repeatedly rejected claims it has altered or exaggerated climate data.
A review published in July by a technical advisory forum set up to examine the bureau's data backed the accuracy of its records, but recommended some improvements in the clarity and presentation of its information.
The FOI documents show Environment Minister Greg Hunt argued against the government's targets taskforce investigating the bureau, noting that the technical forum was already conducting its review.
Mr Abbott in correspondence to Mr Hunt asked Senator Simon Birmingham, who had responsibility for the agency at the time, to "write to me on the outcome of the review of the temperature dataset".
A briefing that was sent to Mr Abbott noted the articles in The Australian but said the way the bureau managed its records was "transparent" and "recognised internationally as among the best in the world".
"It is a scientific approach that has been peer reviewed," the note says.
"Nevertheless, the public need confidence information on Australia's, and the world's, climate is reliable and based on the best available science."
The bureau's spokeswoman said "the bureau always welcomes scrutiny of its scientific work".
"Temperature records are influenced by a range of factors such as changes to site surrounds, measurement methods and the relocation of stations. Such changes introduce biases into the climate record that need to be adjusted for prior to analysis," she said.
"Adjusting for these biases, a process known as homogenisation, is carried out by meteorological authorities around the world as best practice to ensure that climate data is consistent through time."