Radio host Alan Jones has fired back after being slammed by scientists over his claims around climate change during a Q&A segment.
The shock jock was blasted on the ABC show on Monday night over his comments claiming humans contributed only a tiny fraction to the earth’s carbon dioxide levels.
Atmospheric scientist David Karoly said Mr Jones’ comments were not always ‘factually accurate’.
‘I am a climate scientist, and Alan Jones is wrong,’ he said.
But Mr Jones hit back, saying the ‘alleged science panel’ was not designed for debate but rather to further the panellists’ own agendas.
During an appearance on the show last month, Jones dismissed a young panelist with ‘gotcha moment’ after he questioned whether she knew how much CO2 was actually in the atmosphere
Scientist David Karoly hit out at Alan Jones after the radio host claimed humans contributed only a tiny fraction to the earth’s carbon dioxide levels last month
During his 2GB radio show on Tuesday morning said it was a calling it a ‘stacked panel’ before blasting the ABC show for not giving him the opportunity to defend himself.
The outspoken radio host also took aim at Zali Steggall after she took to Twitter to voice her opinion on the issue.
‘So good to hear the scientist debunk the rubbish. Fantastic panel and discussion tonight. Thank you,’ she tweeted.
Mr Jones invited Ms Stegall onto the show to discuss climate change.
‘Would you like to come on the show? he asked.
‘Let’s debate Zali? There’s an empty chair here. Let’s debate climate change.’
Monday night’s discussion was sparked when an audience member asked Dr Karoly if Mr Jones’s comments regarding climate change were true.
‘I saw the radio commentator Alan Jones on TV recently, and he said that 0.04 per cent of the world’s atmosphere is CO2,’ the viewer said.
”Three per cent of that human beings create around the world, and of that, 1.3 per cent is created by Australians’. Is that correct, and if so, is human activity really making a difference?’
Mr Karoly responded saying although Jones is a ‘very well-known’ commentator, his comments are not always ‘factually accurate’.
He explained Mr Jones was right to say the CO2 levels in the atmosphere are at 0.04 per cent, but said the 2GB host seriously downplayed the impact humans have on the atmosphere.
‘I am a climate scientist, and Alan Jones is wrong. The reason he’s wrong is because we know that yes, the greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere is 400 parts per million and this was the one thing he was reasonably accurate on,’ he said.
‘All his other numbers were wrong. We know that carbon dioxide concentration 100 years ago was about 280 parts per million, or 0.028 per cent, but it’s grown 120 parts per million – or about 40 per cent – and that 40 per cent increase is due to human activity. We know that for absolute certain.
‘So he’s wrong about only three per cent due to human activity, it’s 40 per cent.’
Mr Karoly went on to explain that while the 1.5 per cent seems like a marginal figure, Australians do make up 0.3 per cent of the world’s population.
‘So is it fair that 0.3 per cent of the global population has contributed 1.5 per cent? We’ve contributed much more than our fair share,’ he added.
The audience member’s question was in reference to Jones’s fiery debate over whether climate change policy influenced the federal election on Q&A last month.
The 78-year-old had tried to shut down panellists Labor party’s Tanya Plibersek and political reporter Alice Workman with an apparent ‘gotcha moment’ by asking them if they knew how much carbon dioxide was actually in the atmosphere.
Mr Jones had initially argued most Australians clearly didn’t see climate change as the most important federal issue, before claiming young Australians may not have all the facts.
The outspoken radio host also took aim at Zali Steggall after she took to Twitter to voice her opinion on climate change
Ms Plibersek acknowledged she had no idea how much CO2 was actually in the atmosphere, despite her acceptance it was the ‘big issue in relation to climate change’.
Mr Jones later honed in on Ms Workman, posing to her the same question Ms Plibersek couldn’t answer.
‘What percentage of the atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide, Alice?’ he asked.
Ms Workman appeared stunned, before confessing she too did not know the answer.
He explained that 0.04 per cent of the atmosphere is made up with carbon dioxide, a fact that scientist David Karoly confirmed on this week’s Q&A.
He said globally, humans make up about 3 per cent of that overall number, and that Australians in particular contribute 1.3 per cent of the 3 per cent.
But Ms Workman argued ‘the answer to the question is that Scott Morrison believes in climate change’, but Mr Jones cut her off again, repeating his initial question.
‘I’m not a scientist, I don’t know. I’m a political journalist,’ she quipped back.