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News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Low-Down and Dirty: AEI on Climate Change
Integrity in Science Watch is reporting that industry think tank AEI is offering scientists $10,000 to refute climate change science:
An ExxonMobil-funded think tank is offering scientists or economists $10,000 to dispute the international climate report released last week that attributes climate change to human activities, the London Guardian reported. The American Enterprise Institute will also pay for travel expenses and make additional payments in an attempt to undercut the findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose report is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review of the state of climate change science. AEI has received more than $1.6 million from ExxonMobil, and former ExxonMobil head Lee Raymond serves as vice-chairman of its board of trustees. In the wake of this revelation, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights called on Congress to subpoena ExxonMobil's records and probe the oil giant's funding of organizations involved in disputing global warming.
Meanwhile, another ExxonMobil-funded think tank held a press conference today to release a report attacking the IPCC's findings. The conservative Fraser Institute, which has received $120,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998, claimed the IPCC report released last week was a "negotiated text that is not produced by the scientific community." In fact, the IPCC report was written by some of the world's most respected climate scientists without political interference, while the Fraser report's staff includes about 50 junior and retired scientists, many of whom have connections to the energy industry.
Posted by Genevieve Smith
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