Numerous articles regularly appear in the South China Morning Post on cutting carbon dioxide emissions to tackle the problem of global warming.
However, cutting carbon dioxide cannot be the solution. Doing so may also be detrimental to the Hong Kong economy, leading to a loss of jobs, increasing the cost of electricity and further widening the gap between the rich and poor.
The conclusion drawn in the 2007 assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that carbon dioxide is mainly responsible for global warming, is now being reassessed. It is incorrect for a number of reasons.
The role of water vapour is grossly underestimated and that of carbon dioxide grossly overestimated.
Unlike carbon dioxide, water vapour in the atmosphere is rising in tune with temperature changes even on a monthly scale.
Furthermore, there is good correlation existing between sunspot cycles and global temperatures.
There have been advances in knowledge since the IPCC's 2007 report, revealing, for example, the underestimation of the contributions of stratospheric water vapour to decadal changes in the rate of global warming.