PMQs & Climate Change

In today's PMQs, Ming Campbell asked the PM, with specific reference to the recent floods the following question:

"The Prime Minister was responsible for the establishment of the Stern report which as he will recall pointed out the severe economic consequences of climate change. Isn't it clear from the events of the past few weeks that we can not afford not to take the necessary steps nor indeed not to spend the necessary money in order to mitigate the effects of climate change."-

To which Gordon Brown answered:

"Well he is absolutely right. The Stern report said, and it was commission by the Treasury, that 'Global warming is very likely to intensify the water cycle and increase the risk of floods.”-

As bgprior has stated a number of times, as have various leading scientists, the events of the past few weeks have nothing to do with the sort of man induced climate change the Stern report was concerned with and so both Ming and Gordon were not absolutely right. Why are they deliberately muddying the water (for want of a better phrase) between expenditure on tackling climate change and the effects of El Nino? It is right to suggest more needs to be done to tackle flooding, but it is not right to explicitly roll up the recent floods in the greater issue of climate change. It is spreading misinformation to the electorate and verging on scare mongering.