Mark Mardell's Euroblog

A climate for eurosceptics

• Mark Mardell
• 24 Jan 08, 08:29 AM

President Barroso sees the European Union’s plans to deal with climate change as a route to popularity.

He told the European Parliament that it was a great argument for the European Union and shows that the world needs a strong EU.

I am not sure he won over quite everyone in the chamber.

Mr Barroso sat laughing and shaking his head as the UKIP MEP Graham Booth derided the plan. This is part of what he said:

“Climate change is precisely that! Climate changes - ALL THE TIME! So what if Earth's climate decides to cool down instead of warm up? Will the "experts" then suggest that we must produce much more carbon dioxide to try and offset the cooling?

"Of course not - they are so committed to their present "Global Warming" prediction that that would NOT be an option.

“But, sadly, it looks as if that is what IS happening. IF Global Warming has been just a temporary blip and we are now heading relentlessly for the next (inevitable) Ice Age, any reductions in CO2 emissions will have precisely the OPPOSITE effect to that which is intended.

“And all the fancy calculations of carbon trading, the "benefits" of which are highly doubtful anyway, will be completely pointless.”

Conservative MEP Roger Helmer, a fierce critic of the European Union, also doubts that global warming is caused by human activity.

So does Czech president Vaclav Klaus, and we had quite a discussion about it when we met last year. I was interviewing him, yes you guessed it, about his scepticism towards the European Union.

What is the connection between euroscepticsm and doubts about man-made climate change ?

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