Climate change denial slated as irresponsible

“He represents a political party which has followers. He has a responsibility that what he puts out there is based on scientific fact. He is in leadership and says that humanbased climate change does not exist, which is exactly what (US President) Donald Trump is saying,” said Fortune.

He said it was irresponsible to “stir doubt” about climate change with Cape Town experiencing drought.

“We are dealing with rainfall patterns disrupted, water shortages and farmers needing to plant crops in different seasons. Climate scientists have been looking at these patterns over decades and have been warning us of changing weather patterns,” he said.

Haskin, the ACDP’s caucus leader in the City of Cape Town council, said his views on climate change aligned with his party’s: “The ACDP has a position on climate change. We don’t believe it is man-made. The ACDP believes the climate is cyclical…” he said.

“I don’t agree that climate change is the cause of our drought. We have had water shortages and droughts in the Cape… recorded 10 years after (Dutch coloniser Jan) van Riebeeck landed in the Cape. None of these were blamed on climate change.”

Fortune said Haskin presented the classic “cycles of denialists”.

“They quote a couple of studies that say the climate has always been changing. Then they have this position that there’s no consensus on climate change. They don’t want to disprove it,” said Fortune.

“They want to simply create doubt so that policymakers don’t deal with the problem. And then companies get more leeway to abuse the environment. It’s dangerous to ourselves and future generations.”

By late yesterday Tasneem Essop, a former provincial environment minister, had joined the debate online, telling Haskin to “open your mind to the evidence and refrain from referring to climate change as mumbo jumbo”.

“Your approach… does an immense disservice to the millions and millions of poor and vulnerable people across the world who are and will be bearing the brunt of the impacts of climate change… just look at the physical evidence already.”

The Cape Town City Council’s African Christian Democratic Party leader Grant Haskin cemented his party’s climate change denials and has been taken to task for it. He posted a fake news article on his Facebook profile yesterday but later deleted it.