University of Melbourne meteorology professor David Karoly said Senator Fielding had been duped by a group of climate change deniers.
"It is very surprising that he doesn't accept the best information from scientific assessments ... but seeks to get his information from a group of climate change deniers, an organisation that's receiving sufficient funding from the fossil fuel industry," Prof Karoly said.
Senator Fielding picked up the solar flare theory from a group called the American Heartland Institute.
"He seeks to accept their scientific misinformation more than he accepts peer-reviewed scientific publications," Prof Karoly said.
