On Friday, The Guardian reported that the American Enterprise Institute — which has received more than $1.6 million from ExxonMobil — was offering to pay global warming skeptics to speak out in an effort to push back on the new IPCC climate change study. The IPCC report states that it is “very likely” that man-made greenhouse gases were the main cause of the Earth’s recent warming trend.
The article reported that one American scientist — Steve Schroeder, a professor at Texas A&M; university — turned down the offer citing fears that the report could easily be misused for political gain. “You wouldn’t know if some of the other authors might say nothing’s going to happen, that we should ignore it, or that it’s not our fault,” he said.
A copy of the AEI letter can be read HERE.Kenneth Green and Steven Hayward, the AEI employees who sent the letter, claimed they were soliciting views that would highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the IPCC report. But, in the letter, Green and Hayward clearly indicate they are only seeking views that criticize the IPCC. They write:
As with any large-scale “consensus” process, the IPCC is susceptible to self-selection bias in its personnel, resistant to reasonable criticism and dissent, and prone to summary conclusions that are poorly supported by the analytical work of the complete Working Group reports.
[…]
We are hoping to sponsor a paper…that thoughtfully explores the limitations of climate model outputs as they pertain to the development of climate policy.
[…]
AEI will offer an honoraria of $10,000. … We intend to hold a series of small conferences and seminars in Washington and elsewhere…for which we can provide travel expenses and additional honoraria if you are able to participate.
Indeed, the letter reveals that the oil lobbyists at AEI are quite familiar with “self-selection bias.”