Wildrose MLA Don MacIntyre isn’t denying climate change is real but he does argue that the scientific community isn’t in agreement on how much is human-caused.
The Innisfail-Sylvan Lake representative stirred up some criticism on Tuesday after he spoke to reporters about Alberta’s new carbon tax. When asked a question when speaking to reporters, he said that the science wasn’t settled on how much humans contribute to climate change. A member of the NDP caucus, Shaye Anderson later called for Wildrose leader Brian Jean to fire MacIntyre, the party’s critic for electricity and renewables.
”My statement was that climate change is real. Man is having an impact. We need to do something about it. The issue that everyone seems to want to focus on is that I’m saying the science isn’t settled. The science is settled. Is the scientific community on the degree of man’s contribution harmonious? Are they all together on that? I haven’t seen it. I haven’t seen that anywhere,” MacIntyre said Wednesday.
“We have climate change that is cyclical in nature. The climate change that eliminated the glaciers from on top of Alberta. … That was climate change.”
Then there is man’s involvement, he said. “The issue here is man’s aggravation of it, and what to do about it is the big issue.”
Jean has stated in the past that the science on climate change is settled. “No I’m not at odds with Brian (Jean) on this issue,” MacIntyre said. He has not had any discussions on the matter recently, including since Tuesday, with Jean.
MacIntyre said the real reason the NDP is upset with him and his team is because they have been embarrassing the government on several issues. “We expected a backlash so bring it on. … You bet they want me out of there.”
“Obviously our climate changes, and obviously man is having some kind of an impact. The real issue is we have a global problem and we need a global solution, but the big players out there, like China, India, United States, Russia, are not willing to do the very same thing that this government (NDP) is doing. And as a result of that, Alberta is trying to go it alone, and the burden upon our people is just horrendous, and this carbon tax is resulting already in what’s known as carbon leakage.
Jobs are leaking to Saskatchewan and British Columbia, MacIntyre said. “We should have done something in concert with our closest neighbours.”