Myths, fairy stories and inventions regarding climate sceptics are often presented and promoted by climate scientists and their hangers-on in the social sciences, in the media, in NGOs and in politics. One thing that we’ll be doing on this blog is debunking some of these myths.
One of the most wide-spread myths is that climate scepticism is lavishly funded, usually by the oil industry, and is well organised and powerful. See for example this tweet from climate scientist/activist Andrew Dessler:
A particularly amusing article related to this myth recently appeared in the Guardian. Apparently Greenpeace has hired a team of investigative journalists, and “a network of freelancers, field researchers and specialists based around the world”. “Funding is available”, with a “significant budget”, to investigate, amongst other things, the “funding of climate change deniers”. Quite how much funding is available for this venture is not made clear – perhaps an investigative journalist could look into it. The farcical irony of this scenario seemed to be missed by the Guardian reporter and Meirion Jones, one of the journalists involved.
Climate scientist Bethan Davies, who appears to believe this myth, wrote a blog post, Why is communicating climate change science hard, in which she wondered why some people don’t accept what they are told by climate scientists, and claimed that “There is also a well-funded campaign that seeks to spread disinformation about climate science” and “we’re up against powerful forces”. When I asked whether she really believed all this stuff, she seemed to misinterpret my comment, thereby inadvertently partially answering her original question about why climate scientists aren’t trusted. Later on in the discussion, commentator tlitb patiently questioned the argument about the alleged campaigns and public relations superstars. She mentioned the GWPF, who have 677 Twitter followers – she has 2,578.
Davies cites a Physics Today article by Somerville and Hassol, which makes the claim of “the well-organized and well-funded disinformation campaign”, strongly criticised for its policy advocacy by Roger Pielke Sr. Somerville and Hassol provide no evidence but cite the usual source of the myth, the notorious “Merchants of Smear” Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, whose book has been critically reviewed by Reiner Grundmann. Grundmann concludes that the book is more of a passionate attack than a scholarly work, and does a disservice to its cause. To put it more bluntly, Oreskes and Conway are political activists masquerading as serious academics. See also Bankruptcy of the ‘merchants of doubt’ meme.
Another academic peddling the myth is Robert Brulle. His absurd paper delves into the finances of dozens of obscure US organisations. Ever heard of the “John William Pope Foundation” or the “Atlas Economic Research Foundation”? Me neither. Apparently some of these organisations gave some money to others; worse still, in the eyes of the hopelessly biased academic left, some of them even support free-market policies. What actually happens with this money is not mentioned; Brulle fails to produce any evidence that it is used for climate scepticism, and admits that much of it is untraceable.
One doesn’t have to look too far to see that the claim that climate sceptics are lavishly funded is completely bogus. Take a look at the UK’s most active climate sceptic blog, Bishop Hill. The first thing you can’t help noticing (unless you have ad-blocking installed) is a large banner advert across the top of the site:
Lower down, there’s another intrusive advert, alongside a tip jar begging for cash:
The leading US climate blog, Watts Up With That, is also cluttered with ads. Now if climate sceptics were awash with oil money, as alleged by the likes of Dessler, Davies, Oreskes and Brulle, wouldn’t the top UK and US sceptic bloggers be supplied with sufficient funds that they didn’t have to clutter their blog with irritating adverts?
The response by climate sceptics to the myth of oil funding is often to ask jokingly “Where’s My Exxon Check?” (another example here).
Mike Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute simply describes the myth as ‘manifestly wrong’:
https://twitter.com/MichaelBTI/status/644157867927470080
and in another sequence of tweets debunks The Exxon Climate Denial Myth.
The reality is that it is the climate activism industry that is rolling in money. Organisations such as RTCC, Carbon Brief and dozens of others all have flashy websites to churn out their propaganda. In fact the two mentioned here have recently had professional and presumably expensive website re-designs. They also regularly offer well-paid jobs in their industry. Where are the job offers for climate sceptics?
On the funding front, recent news stories include:
- Michael Bloomberg targets Big Coal again with $30m donation to Sierra Club
- MacArthur Foundation vows to push climate solutions, starting with $50M pledge to green groups
- Obama pledges $12 billion in new federal loan guarantees for renewables
Furthermore, many climate scientists themselves, and climate activist groups, have accepted oil money. The UEA Climatic Research Unit acknowledges funding from BP and Shell, while RTCC is sponsored by Pacific, a leading explorer and producer of natural gas and crude oil. Even the new chair of the IPCC, Hoesung Lee, was employed by Exxon for three years!
So why do so many climate activists appear to believe in the conspiracy theory of the powerful, well organised, secretive, lavishly funded network of climate sceptics, when in fact all the money and organisation is on their side? One possibility is that having failed to win the argument (it’s generally agreed that scepticism has increased over the last decade or so) they need to create an excuse, a scapegoat, an imaginary villain, rather than face up to their own failings. What better way to rouse your followers than telling them there is a ‘well-funded campaign’ out to thwart them. They are then in battle-mode, inspired to see themselves as valiant heroes, even though it isn’t true.
Climate Scepticism 
Funding alarmism to funding skepticism is dollars to doughnuts, and the skeptics are actually doughnut holes, so thin their subsistence.
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Yes, it’s a handy excuse and certainly couched in emotional trigger words. The repetition of a simple idea and psuedo-scholarly foundation Oreskes gave to the meme reinforces its attraction for the unthinking. Psychological projection is in there somewhere too.
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“What better way to rouse your followers than telling them there is a ‘well-funded campaign’ out to thwart them. They are then in battle-mode, inspired to see themselves as valiant heroes, even though it isn’t true.”
Parallels with some (non mainstream) Christian organisations/followers here
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Very true. More your imaginary villain than a scapegoat though. A secular equivalent of the devil, with oil money as sin. Cultures often create the image of a powerful enemy from the thinnest of contexts; not only motivates the adherents to angry passion for all that the culture stands for (which is all that the enemy is not), but the active force of the enemy apparently unraveling and undermining all the good works, helps explain why there is little or no progress to Nirvana. The culture benefits from the constant journey in fact, rather than from actually reaching what is anyhow an impossible goal.
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Ah, I see Colin got there before me. I should read the comments before posting!
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Oil companies, like climate septics, are smart enough to understand that demand for their products is unlikely to reduce in any foreseeable future scenario.
They are also large & wealthy enough to adapt their businesses to any new energy sources that should show promise.
Way back in the 80s I worked with a UK research centre set up by BP to develop alpha silicon thin-film solar cells. That technology didn’t realise its promise – but there have been many other areas where “big oil” has invested in non-fossil energy.
Big companies are extremely good at adapting to political change & profiting from it – so have no need to try and stand in the way of fashionable ideas like climate change.
It’s hard to believe any educated person could really believe such an obvious conspiracy tale – but then it’s equally hard to believe that that such a person could wish away the historical evidence for the medieval warm period. We live in curious times.
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Classic projection.
They are rolling in cash from anonymous and murky sources so they automatically assume the opposition must also be doing the same.
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Something I find amusing is that, loosely using alarmists’ logic, one could argue that since ExxonMobil takes an alarmist stance on climate change,
(http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/environment/climate-change)
and since (this is just one example) the new IPCC chairman began his career with Exxon,
(http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2015/10/14/hoesung-lee-new-ipcc-leader/)
all of the IPCC’s conclusions and statements will be invalid (because Hoesung Lee is “linked to” Exxon!) Of course, it is absurd logic, but it doesn’t seem to matter to the alarmists when they repeatedly attack and smear many who disagree with them, be it professors from Princeton (or some other prestigious university),
(http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/15/interview-with-physicist-will-happer-on-climate-change/)
Nobel Prize laureates,
(http://www.desmogblog.com/ivar-giaever)
former Presidents of the National Academy of Sciences,
(http://www.populartechnology.net/2010/05/rebuttal-to-video-crock-of-week-32000.html)
or just about anyone.
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I do look forward to seeing what this new blog will bring. Many thank for taking the time to start it up and maintain it.
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Oreskes is not stupid, and therefore the only alternative is that she is a true believer. I personally believe this has something to do with the general demotion of reason with the rise of modernism. Bertrand Russell nailed it very well with his diagnoses of Romanticism’s fatal flaw. When truth is no longer an objectively believed in value, anything is excused in the promotion of the cause and global warming is the new cause celeb of the political left. And this is where there is a real blind spot in the scientist agenda. Science as Russell would say is different than values and can just as easily be misused in the service of evil as of good.
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Plus the fact that the alarmist side of the debate is getting its butt kicked all over the shop, so they must invent a “vicious, well-funded denialist machine” to somehow explain away their own failure.
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Indeed Clive, well said. You may find interesting the opinions of Dr. Roger Pielke Sr., which can be found on his blog, if you have not yet looked into it. Though it is no longer being updated, it has a wealth of useful information still on it. Here is the link: https://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/.
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The strength of the polarity, despite the tremendous disparity in treasure, power, and lives is curious. Why is the skeptic case so durable? Part of the answer is that such case is simply doubting the exaggeration of the alarmists, for which there is no other raison d’etre. Absent significant danger, the bubble goes poof.
And then the dissonance and wreckage, floating about on an ocean of understanding of the mysteriously untold benefits of carbon. It’s slowly becoming completely obvious that man’s use of fossil fuels, and the increased concentration of CO2, and the mild and variable warming, and the great and cornucopic greening is all a huge net benefit to not only man, but the whole biome.
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On Twitter, Meirion Jones says:
Paul, you don’t seem to have looked at this one http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/21/climate-change-denier-willie-soon-funded-energy-industry … & by the way I don’t use term “climate change denier”
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A part of this myth undoubtedly has to do with the fact that skeptics punch far above their weight, because they have facts and logic on their side. Warmunists have to contend with their failed past alarmist predictions, the pause, global greening, and the impracticalities of solutions like renewables. No amount of money for propaganda can cover up so many grave blemishes.
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The problem here goes very deep into human circumstances and preferences. Fossil fuels provide things that are very satisfying to human beings, such as fast transport, electricity, heat during the winter, air-conditioning during the summer, etc. The CO2 problem is fundamentally different than the air pollution problem where controling emissions is easier and far cheaper.
Admitting the essentials of this situation would put the climate activist in a tough position, so they instead search for witches to burn. The convenient one is a vast conspiracy of wealthy special interests that prevents the activist from being successful. However, burning a witch or two will not change anything except to make the activist feel better for a short while. The real problem of course is simply that most people like the short term benefits of fossil fuels and will not support measures that significantly reduce those benefits.
If I were myself very concerned about CO2, I would be very disappointed that the mitigation advocates have shown themselves to be so deluded and ineffective.
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Jo Nova Wrote a report Climate Money back in 2009, on the $79 Billion of US climate funding. She also discussed the “Exxon blame-game”, describing it as a distracting side-show.
This is a common theme at her blog, see for example the more recent article Spot the Vested Interest: The $1.5 Trillion Climate Change Industry
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I don’t think the analogy to witches is very close. We all know what the archetypal evil well-funded conspiracy to subvert the world actually is.
It is amusing to ask anyone who trots out the Koch brothers as the central villains if they get their information from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. But then they block you.
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Climate alarmism is a glaring example of the politisisation of science. 1. We have a comparatively new branch of science competing for government funding against against such heavyweights as health, education, defence and so on. How better to bolster one’s case by predicting disaster if money is not immediately made available. 2. Aided and abetted by bureaucracy who live to regulate. 3. Hard wired anti capitalists who, following the implosion of the centrally controlled economies in 1989 have been looking for some other means to belabour the capitalistic beast. How better than to raise the cost of energy on which any modern economy depends by government fiat. 4. Purveyors of windmills and solar panels who can’t exist without government subsidies. 5. Merchant banks who can see a dollar to be made by trading carbon credits. 6. Misguided idealists intent on saving us from ourselves (most of whom are themselves on some form of government.
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