God promised Noah global warming wouldn't destroy planet: US politician

London, Nov 11 (ANI): A Republican congressman bidding to chair U.S. energy committee has claimed that the planet would not be destroyed by global warming because of a promise God made to Noah.

John Shimkus insists we shouldn't concerned about the planet being destroyed because God promised Noah it wouldn't happen again after the great flood.

"As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease," The Daily Mail quoted Shimkus as speaking before a House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing in March, 2009 as he quoted Chapter 8, Verse 22 of the Book of Genesis.

"I believe that is the infallible word of God, and that's the way it is going to be for his creation. The earth will end only when God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood," he added.

"Today we have about 388 parts per million in the atmosphere. I think in the age of dinosaurs, when we had the most flora and fauna, we were probably at 4,000 parts per million. There is a theological debate that this is a carbon-starved planet - not too much carbon. And the cost of a cap-and-trade on the poor is now being discovered," Shimkus said.

The politician is a vocal opponent to President Obama's American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Shimkus will likely be competing against Texas Representative Joe Barton and Michigan Congressman Fred Upton for the leadership.

It is not the first time Shimkus has sparked surprise. In May 2007, he compared the Iraq war to a baseball game between his 'beloved' St Louis Cardinals and the 'much despised' Chicago Cubs. (ANI)