New Tactics, But Climate Crusaders Running Out Of Options

Authored by Gary Abernathy via The Empowerment Alliance,

In the wake of a federal government no longer serving as its obedient lapdog, the desperate lengths to which the climate cult goes to maintain its standing is increasingly imaginative.

Case in point: CNN recently reported that “for the first time, scientists have quantified the causal links between worsening heat waves and global warming pollution from individual fossil fuel and cement companies, pushing the boundaries of extreme weather event research in multiple surprising ways.”

In other words, the climate crusaders – apparently believing that it’s necessary to ratchet up the alarm factor in order to retain relevance – are now claiming the ability to pinpoint exact companies and actions that are allegedly leading to “worsening heat waves” – an interesting finding in the midst of one of the coolest Augusts and Septembers in much of the U.S. in recent years.

The study “encompasses 213 heat waves around the world from 2000 to 2023.” The conclusion? Wait for it – heatwaves “became much more likely and severe during that period, largely due to the burning of fossil fuels.” Shocking.

Accusations that fossil fuels are causing global warming, or cooling, or any weather pattern varying from what is claimed to be “normal,” are nothing new, of course. What’s new is that the study, published in the journal Nature, now claims to identify the specific culprits.

“Of the extreme heat events the researchers focused on, as many as a quarter of them would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without the climate pollution from any of the 14 biggest ‘carbon majors’ — the largest fossil fuel and cement producers responsible for the lion’s share of the world’s carbon pollution,” according to the report. The alleged “carbon majors” include industry giants ExxonMobil and Chevron, of course, along with nations such as the former Soviet Union.

“The study also found these companies are responsible for 50% of the increase in heat wave intensity since before humans started adding so much planet-warming carbon and methane pollution to the atmosphere,” according to CNN’s story.

Now we get to the kicker, the apparent practical application of such a specific report: “The conclusions may have far-reaching ramifications, including aiding those who seek in court to make oil and gas companies pay for climate change-related harm, a task that has proven extremely difficult in the U.S.”

Indeed, the radical climate movement has increasingly attempted to win court judgments against companies that provide our most affordable and reliable fuels. These “scientific studies” could provide left-leaning judges with a new justification to side with climate change zealots. One study co-author acknowledged that the conclusions provide another weapon in the legal arsenal.

“Courts are indicating a willingness to hold carbon majors accountable, but at the same time asking for more scientific certainty, and our study helps to close a part of that gap,” said Corina Heri, a study co-author and law professor at Tilburg Law School in Zurich.

It’s difficult to claim as coincidence the fact that the ramped-up effort to apply a shiny new veneer to rusty climate theories comes as the federal government is exponentially moving away from the grip of climate change fever.

The New York Times recently reported that Chris Wright, energy secretary in the Trump administration, has argued that “renewable energy projects developed with the aim of reducing fossil fuels were not beneficial to the United States.” Wright recently “defended the Trump administration’s decision to block a nearly completed $6.2 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island by saying offshore wind increases electricity prices and by downplaying the jobs at stake.”

Speaking on Sept. 5 to the council on Foreign Relations, a Washington research organization, Wright said, “Climate change, for impacting the quality of your life, is not incredibly important. In fact, if it wasn’t in the news, in the media, you wouldn’t know.”

Adding insult to injury as far as climate zealots are concerned was a follow-up announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency that it will no longer require greenhouse gas emission reports “for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country,” as the Times reported. EPA head Lee Zeldin called greenhouse gas reporting “nothing more than bureaucratic red tape,” and said ending the program could save U.S. businesses $2.4 billion over the coming decade.

Naturally, the energy “experts” contacted by the Times disagreed with Wright’s assessment, and critics similarly assailed the end of greenhouse gas emission reporting, claiming it would seriously set back the fight against climate change.

It’s no wonder that those invested in the global warming movement (by whatever moniker it embraces in any given decade), once riding on easy street with the full backing of the Biden-Harris administration, are attempting to retrench and regroup with a new method to attack their favorite bogeyman – traditional, reliable, affordable energy – in sympathetic courtrooms.

But they may be running out of road, at least in the U.S. If the Trump administration continues to dismantle the statutory mechanisms that have kept the Climate Doom Squad alive, pretty soon there won’t be any far-flung climate regulations left to use as legal ammo – freeing up courts to concern themselves with issues grounded in fact, removed from politics, and more pertinent to average Americans.

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Empowerment Alliance or ZeroHedge.

asingly imaginativ