Most people would consider a report warning about the devastating effects of climate change as alarmist, acting NSW Premier Andrew Stoner says.
The NSW government has dismissed as alarmist a report warning the state faces worsening heatwaves, mental health problems and even deaths due to climate change.
The report from the federal government's Climate Commission found heatwaves are longer and more intense while the number of hot days in western Sydney has risen 60 per cent since the 1970s.
This would make the state more susceptible to bushfires and put coastal areas at risk from rising sea levels, it warns, as well as contributing to physical and mental ill-health.
Acting NSW Premier Andrew Stoner said most people would view the commission's findings as "alarmist".
Mr Stoner also accused Professor Flannery of having been "pretty wide of the mark" previously.
"So unless he has got some new evidence, I think the average person would be a little sceptical," Mr Stoner told reporters.
Climate Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery said the picture was not totally bleak.
"This report isn't all bad news," he told reporters at the launch of the report in Sydney on Monday.
"The world is changing, renewable, clean energy is the future."
Report author and fellow climate commissioner Professor Lesley Hughes said it cited peer-reviews.
"(It) shows a link between extreme hot weather and all sorts of health problems, both mental illness problems - and death," said Prof Hughes.
She said the report's aim wasn't to scare people but to prepare the public for the health risks associated with climate change.
"What we're saying is that we're expecting an increased number of heat waves, and that will increase the number of death and illness," she said.
University of Newcastle Associate Professor of Engineering Stewart Franks said the report failed to take into account cyclical weather patterns.
"The whole thrust of the report is what the climate's going to be doing into the future," he told ABC Radio on Monday.
"Now unfortunately, we know that the climate models that are used to actually do that job actually don't represent key modes of climate which are very important."
http://jennifermarohasy.com/2012/05/climate-commission-fudges-hot-day-data/
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