{"id":4761,"date":"2015-06-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/center-for-the-study-of-carbon-dioxide-and-global-change\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T08:53:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T08:53:33","slug":"center-for-the-study-of-carbon-dioxide-and-global-change","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/climate\/climate-deniers\/front-groups\/center-for-the-study-of-carbon-dioxide-and-global-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CO2 Science)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group<\/span>
$85,000 from Koch foundations 2004-2007
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change is run by its president,\u00a0Sherwood B. Idso<\/a>, and his sons, founding chairman\u00a0Craig\u00a0Idso<\/a> and vice chairman\u00a0Keith\u00a0Idso<\/a>. The Center owns\u00a0the website<\/a>\u00a0“CO2 Science,” and is closely affiliated<\/a> with a longtime climate denial outfit called the Science and Environmental Policy Project<\/a>, a name-on-paper organization that has promoted doubt over established scientific research for decades.<\/p>\n

The Idso’s have produced a decades worth of scientific papers that have been used to attack U.S. and international climate change policies. Their conclusions represent an\u00a0extreme fringe of scientific\u00a0viewpoints–touting<\/a> the supposed benefits of industrial carbon dioxide emissions–that are at odds with a majority of the world’s science institutions<\/a> and 97% of published scientific research<\/a> on the topic.<\/p>\n

Examples of climate scientists\u00a0debunking claims made by the Idso family can be found on RealClimate<\/a>. Refutations of scientific literature that undermine the conclusions of “CO2 Science”\u00a0are available on Skeptical Science<\/a>, run by John Cook.<\/p>\n

The Idso’s and their organization have received funds from the largest U.S. oil company–ExxonMobil<\/a>–and the largest U.S. coal mining company–Peabody Energy<\/a>. Craig Idso obtained his Ph.D in Geology at Arizona State University, under the supervision of Robert C. Balling, who himself published studies that were financed by ExxonMobil. Craig Idso was also\u00a0a consultant for Peabody Energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Craig Idso is a frequent guest speaker at conferences hosted by The Heartland Institute<\/a>. Heartland has has contracted Craig Idso, and given an award to Sherwood Idso for his career as a climate science skeptic.<\/p>\n

Craig Idso has briefed state legislators, lobbyists, pundits, and other attendees of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conferences. At an ALEC meeting in 2011, Idso told lawmakers<\/a> that society \u201cshould let CO2 rise unrestricted, without government intervention.” At ALEC’s annual meeting in 2014, Idso told lawmakers<\/a>, “Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It is a benefit. It is the very elixir of life.” \u00a0Idso has reused this tagline, which has been promoted<\/a>\u00a0by Koch-funded groups<\/a> like the Cato Institute<\/a> and the Heritage Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n