friend, We are appalled, but not surprised, at the decision of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University to bring Bjorn Lomborg to give a talk on “climate alarmism” as part of the Hayek Lecture Series on February 25th. Unfortunately, this strategy to advance regressive climate, economic, and social agendas is a key part of the Koch network’s “battle of ideas." Despite not having a background in climate science, Lomborg is best known as the author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It, two books that downplay the risks of global warming. While he does not deny that climate change exists, he makes questionable scientific claims and advocates inaction on government policies that would reduce carbon pollution. He has an extensive history of contradicting himself, has been called out by peers for his “deception” around climate change, had his book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, deemed "scientifically dishonest" by the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty, as well as had it poorly reviewed by experts in environmental science. Lomberg is also frequently trotted out as an expert by those pushing climate misinformation, pseudoscience, and climate change denial. It also bears noting that the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke is funded by Charles Koch, having received a donation of $5 million from the Charles Koch Foundation(CKF) in 2018. In addition to being the head of a petro-chemical empire, Koch is one of the leading individual donors to climate science denial, with the CKF having given over $150 million to climate denial operations. In addition to accepting Koch money, Duke is now providing a platform for a speaker whose controversial and heavily critiqued work is used in climate misinformation. The lack of responsibility in allowing a Center funded by fossil fuel money to promote someone like Lomborg is appalling. It is especially upsetting to see Duke invite someone mired in climate change controversy while the university purports to be committed to significant climate action. We are calling on Duke University to do better and recognize these instances of conflict of interest, especially at the expense of our climate and the school’s academic integrity.
Jasmine Banks, Executive Director UnKoch My Campus |
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