Climate Deniers Gather Amid Record US March Temperatures
As scientists confirmed that March was the warmest in United States recorded history, dozens of climate deniers convened to promote misinformation and highlight their increasing influence on federal policy.
At a conference hosted last week by the Heartland Institute, a prominent thinktank known for rejecting climate science, a crowd predominantly composed of middle-aged men in suits asserted that the world is finally recognizing that the climate crisis is a myth.
“I feel wonderful,” James Taylor, president of the Heartland Institute, said in an interview. “The truth is winning out.”
The most evident indicator of the group’s rising power was the keynote speaker: Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, who is also reportedly under consideration by Donald Trump for attorney general. On Wednesday morning, Zeldin declared,
“It is a day to celebrate vindication.”
Zeldin criticized previous administrations for allowing a “cabal” of elites to promote climate science to advance their agendas. He stated,
“We aren’t just following blind obedience to whatever the dire, doom-and-gloom prediction of the day is.”
Despite overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real, urgent, and primarily caused by fossil fuel combustion, the conference attendees rejected these conclusions.
Conference Atmosphere and Messaging
The event took place in the basement of a hotel near the White House, where attendees were greeted by materials promoting climate denial.
A banner outside the main ballroom, erected by the CO2 Coalition—a climate-denying nonprofit and conference co-sponsor—read,
“Good news. There is no climate crisis.”
Tables were laden with displays stating “CO2 is a lifesaver,” pamphlets titled “Fossil fuels are the greenest energy source,” and “Challenging ‘net zero’ with science.” Children’s books falsely claimed that sea level rise acceleration is insignificant. Baskets contained buttons proclaiming “Unashamed about my carbon footprint” and stress balls shaped like Earths with the phrase “Don’t stress. There is no climate crisis.”
The conference brought together both climate skeptics and outright deniers. Some attendees falsely claimed global warming does not exist, while others acknowledged warming but denied it was human-caused or an emergency.
“I believe humans have played a role in climate change. That is a far cry from saying I believe in a ‘climate crisis,’” Taylor said in an emailed response regarding the scientific consensus on global warming. “It is important not to conflate two very different assertions.”
Presenters shared several common but false themes: carbon emissions are harmless or beneficial; renewable energy harms the planet; big tech and financial sectors collaborate to undermine fossil fuels; and climate science and policies are driven by powerful “leftist” politicians and media.
Funding and Influence of Climate Denial Groups
Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard University historian of science who has studied climate denialism for two decades, noted that rightwing thinktanks like the Heartland Institute often portray themselves as underdogs oppressed by elites.
“Part of the mentality of these folks is that they present themselves as victims,” she said. “Of course, that’s completely preposterous, because they’re not victims, and in fact many of these people are affiliated with very powerful groups and been supported by fortune 500 companies.”
Oreskes highlighted that the Heartland Institute has received funding from major oil companies including ExxonMobil and Koch Industries. It has also accepted contributions from the Mercer family, Republican mega-donors.
When asked about current funding sources, Taylor described the inquiry as “curious and disappointing.”
“We are funded by individuals who believe in what we advocate for: We believe in freedom, we believe in affordable energy,” he said.
In an email, Taylor added,
“It has been nearly 20 years since Heartland received any money from oil companies. Even then, it was only a tiny percentage of our funding. I would gladly accept oil company funding again.”
He further claimed, “big oil openly supports the UN climate agenda and gives far more to climate activist causes than they ever gave to Heartland,” and described green groups’ funding as “shady.”
Unprecedented Political Influence During Trump Administration
With Donald Trump in the White House, organizations such as the Heartland Institute, the CO2 Coalition, and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)—a rightwing group opposing what it calls “climate exaggeration” and also a conference co-sponsor—have gained unprecedented influence.
“Twenty years ago it would have been shocking … for the EPA administrator to take seriously a group of people whose positions are so patently at odds with all of the scientific evidence,” Oreskes said. “But essentially, climate deniers are in charge now.”
During Trump’s first term, a Heartland Institute founder met at the White House to advise on the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Last year, a Heartland representative stated the group has “very strong affiliations” with Trump officials.
The Heartland Institute also contributed to Project 2025, an ultra-conservative guidebook for a potential second Trump term. Trump has enacted some of the organization’s priorities, including the repeal of the “endangerment finding,” the legal basis for nearly all US climate regulations. When CFACT president Craig Rucker mentioned this rollback while introducing Lee Zeldin on Wednesday, the audience responded with cheers.
CFACT has also influenced the Trump administration. Last year, it successfully pressured the cancellation of funding for a California offshore wind project. The CO2 Coalition’s founder helped establish a White House committee to challenge climate science during Trump’s first term. Recently, the group nominated an ophthalmologist without relevant expertise to a key air pollution committee, according to the New York Times.
Public Opinion and Youth Engagement
Although conference attendees claimed their influence is growing, polls indicate that the vast majority of Americans accept the reality of climate change. This is especially true among young people, including 42% of young Republicans, according to recent surveys.
When asked about polls showing widespread belief in the climate crisis, Taylor cited a 2019 survey indicating most Americans were unwilling to pay even $10 more per month in electric bills to combat global warming.
“Americans lose very little sleep over global warming,” he said.
However, a Thursday panel titled “Bringing Youth into the Climate Realist Fold” revealed that climate deniers are concerned about youth climate activism.
CO2 Coalition member Anika Sweetland, who holds a bachelor of science in climate studies and identifies as a climate scientist despite limited social media presence, suggested,
“My suggestion is to capitalize on the popularity of climate realism influencers to engineer a hashtag movement, like ‘Me Too,’ but for truth. Something like ‘hashtag fact check’ or ‘hashtag my climate wake up.’”
Another panelist, Lucy Biggers, 36, who claimed to have made the Dakota Access pipeline protests at Standing Rock “go viral,” said she once considered herself a climate activist but was “indoctrinated into the groupthink.”
“Young people have been so misled,” Biggers said. She serves as head of social media at the Free Press.
Activist Disruption and Youth Protest
The youth-focused panel was interrupted by activists from Climate Defiance.
One protester, wearing a suit and a backwards hat, sarcastically greeted the audience with,
“Yo, how’s it going my fellow youths. There’s no such thing as fossil fuel-caused climate change!”
The individual was quickly removed from the ballroom.
An organizer of the protest, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, explained that the disruption aimed to prevent the panel from proceeding without challenge, especially since the audience was “almost entirely geriatric white men who will not live to see the effects of climate change the way that my generation will.”
“The message that we wanted to bring was that climate change denial is not just a matter of a difference of opinions,” the organizer said. They added that they do not believe efforts to spread climate denial among youth will succeed.
“These people think that they are untouchable and that they can spread this kind of misinformation entirely unchecked? No.”
