The issue of climate change is a complex and multifaceted one that requires a nuanced and comprehensive approach. While there is broad scientific consensus on the reality and severity of climate change, there are also concerns about the effectiveness and equity of current solutions, the role of natural variability, and the influence of political and economic interests. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Dr. Judith Curry, and Dr. Bjorn Lomborg offer alternative viewpoints that challenge the mainstream narrative and highlight the complexity of the issue. While they do not deny the reality of climate change, they question the apocalyptic tone of the discourse and the effectiveness of current solutions. They argue that there are other factors at play, such as political agendas, economic interests, and scientific uncertainty, that need to be taken into account.
Jordan B. Peterson is a well-known public intellectual, psychologist, and author who has been called the most influential public intellectual in the western world by The New York Times. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and is known for his bestselling books, including “Maps of Meaning” which presents a new scientifically-grounded theory of religious and political belief, and the popular “12 Rules for Life”, as well as “Beyond Order”. Peterson’s podcasts frequently top the charts in the Education category, and he has over 6.67 million followers on YouTube alone. Peterson’s views on climate change differ from those of many others and he does not believe that the problem is as urgent as others make it out to be. He finds the taxpayer money spent on solutions to the problem to be appalling, and argues that the terror around climate change is mostly psychological and technical. In an interview with US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, the latter views the social funding of climate change as a monumental and immediate problem that has resulted in a tyrant elite with the concentrated power to do whatever is fit for them in the name of saving the planet. Peterson agrees that this is a problem, and argues that the environmental religion has a motive to label human activities as cancerous to the planet and accumulate power in the hands of the elite, without any real concern for the environment. He believes that people need to understand the hidden agenda behind the mindless spending associated with climate change.
Dr. Judith Curry, an American climatologist with a Bachelor’s degree in geography from Northern Illinois University and a geophysical sciences Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Curry is the professor Emerita and former Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has had an accomplished career, working with NASA, the US Government, and numerous academic institutions in the field of climate change. Curry advocates for a non-alarmist approach, acknowledging Earth’s rising temperature with a grain of salt—in-field research, and a refusal to shut the doors of science to those with opposing views and findings. Curry argues that her models about global warming are accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, when she includes the natural variability of the earth’s climate, including ocean circulations, volcanic eruptions, and solar variability, her models simulate scenarios that don’t go along with the IPCC’s rate of warming. She points out that the hockey stick representation of the temperature of the earth for thousands of years, which prominently featured in the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report in 2001, was a trick. The human time frame data used was an entirely different dataset than the tree ring data used for thousands of years, so the natural variation of temperature of the earth of those times was not accounted for in proportion, or seen by anyone. The recent uptick of the graph, however, shocked and convinced the world that doomsday was near. Curry believes that the tripping point of Earth due to global warming is just a game for high power interest groups to get their things done in the name of a catastrophe looming in the face of mankind.
Another leading and respected scientist in the field of environment is Dr. Bjorn Lomborg. In 2009, Business Insider claimed that Lomborg was one of the ten most-respected global warming skeptics. His book “Skeptical Environmentalist” is controversial for outlining Lomborg’s views that concerns and responses to environmental issues are overly pessimistic and unsupported. In his recent article “Welfare in the 21st century: Increasing Development”, he explains that it’s important to recognize that the issue of climate change is a multifaceted one that involves scientific, political, economic, and social factors. As such, it requires a nuanced and comprehensive approach that takes into account the diverse perspectives and interests of all stakeholders. While there is broad scientific consensus on the reality and severity of climate change, there are also legitimate concerns about the effectiveness and equity of current approaches to addressing it.
One of the key points of contention is the role of human activity in causing climate change. While the majority of scientists agree that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, is a major contributor to climate change, there are dissenting views that emphasize the role of natural variability and other factors. Dr. Curry, for example, argues that current climate models do not adequately account for natural variability, such as ocean circulation, volcanic eruptions, and solar variability, and that incorporating these factors can lead to different predictions than those currently being made.
Another issue is the effectiveness and equity of current solutions to climate change. Dr. Peterson and Dr. Lomborg argue that the current approach, which emphasizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources, is both ineffective and costly. They argue that the emphasis on renewable energy is misguided and that nuclear energy is a more viable and sustainable alternative. They also question the equity of current solutions, pointing out that developing countries, particularly in Africa, are being deprived of the opportunity to develop their fossil fuel resources and lift themselves out of poverty.
There is the issue of political and economic interests that are driving the climate change discourse. Dr. Peterson and Dr. Lomborg argue that the climate change narrative has been hijacked by special interest groups and political elites who are using it to advance their own agendas. They point out that the focus on climate change has resulted in massive spending on ineffective solutions and has led to policies that hurt the most vulnerable members of society.
