{"id":377813,"date":"2025-05-09T08:51:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T06:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=377813"},"modified":"2025-05-09T08:51:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T06:51:46","slug":"politicos-hit-piece-on-me-and-energy-secretary-wright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=377813","title":{"rendered":"Politico\u2019s \u201cHit Piece\u201d on Me and Energy Secretary Wright"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Roy Spencer, PhD<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 7th, 2025 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suppose I shouldn\u2019t be surprised. For the uninitiated, while Politico is allegedly a news organization, it has a history of supporting Progressive and Leftist causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, the summary lead at the top of the article is pretty good: \u201cA common refrain: Climate policy hurts the poor, and the continued use of fossil fuels is a boon for humanity.<\/em>\u201c<\/strong> But, at best, today\u2019s Politico article entitled, \u201cMeet the 4 influencers shaping Chris Wright\u2019s worldview<\/a>\u201d is a mix of truths, half-truths, and misleading innuendoes. The article is by Scott Waldman. The four alleged influencers of Energy Secretary Chris Wright\u2019s views on climate science and energy policy are, in order, Bjorn Lomborg, me, Alex Epstein, and John Constable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will let the others speak for themselves. What follows is, verbatim, the article addressing my influence on Sec. Wright. I don\u2019t need to comment on everything because some of it is true. I will only offer clarifications where appropriate. Why? Because there are a lot of untruths circulating about me and unless I address them from time to time, those things become part of a narrative that is difficult to dislodge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quotes from the article are in italics; my response & clarifications are in bold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencer, whose work was cited as a resource in Wright\u2019s report, is a research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is listed as an adviser to the Heartland Institute, which promotes climate misinformation.<\/em> I used to give talks at Heartland conferences, but haven\u2019t in recent years. I don\u2019t have a formal relationship with them. I don\u2019t speak for Heartland Institute, but I thoroughly disagree with the claim that they promote \u201cclimate misinformation\u201d. That shoe fits Politico much better.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some of Spencer\u2019s work on atmospheric temperatures and other areas of study has been funded by NASA and the Energy Department, he has attacked federal climate researchers as being biased because they receive taxpayer money, and he has claimed that people alive today won\u2019t experience global warming.<\/em> On the first point\u2026 true. On the second point, I believe what I have said is that most people today will never notice global warming in their lifetimes because it is too weak (about 0.02 deg. C per year) compared to natural climate, seasonal, and day-to-day weather variability.<\/strong> In my book, people who believe they have witnessed human-caused global warming are about as delusional as flat-Earthers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencer also served as a visiting fellow for the Heritage Foundation, which produced the Project 2025 policy proposal that has guided the first months of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The groups Spencer has been affiliated with have received millions of dollars in donations from foundations that oppose regulations, but he claims the American public has \u201cbeen misled by the vested interests who financially benefit from convincing the citizens we are in a climate crisis.\u201d That includes environmental groups and journalists, in his telling<\/em>. And I stand by that claim. Look at the artwork at the top of this article, and see if you can figure out what it implies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClimate change is big business for a lot of players,\u201d he wrote in a Heritage Foundation publication. \u201cThat includes a marching army of climate scientists whose careers now depend on a steady stream of funding from governments.\u201d<\/em> True.<\/strong> And I have said my career also depends upon that funding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, Spencer has worked with organizations that have received funding from an interlinked network of fossil fuel companies \u2014 a multitrillion-dollar global industry \u2014 as well as wealthy foundations with billions of dollars in holdings that support groups opposing climate and energy regulations.<\/em> What are you implying, Scott? That I\u2019ve been paid off by this multitrillion dollar global industry? I know that\u2019s what you are doing. But they have never funded me. At most, I have giving an occasional invited talk, which I receive honoraria for when offered (standard practice, and the same has applied to environmental organizations I have spoken to).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He states on his website that he has not been paid by oil companies, but a court filing in 2016 revealed that he received funding from Peabody Energy, the coal giant that for years spent millions of dollars on funding climate denial groups.<\/em> That was one of my invited talks: As I recall, it was a Peabody board of directors meeting, and they wanted someone to provide a counterpoint to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) talk given at the same meeting. Peabody never funded me to do work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencer has appeared before Congress a number of times, typically as a Republican witness attacking climate policy and downplaying climate risks. He served as the climatologist for the late conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, who regularly promoted climate denialism on his show.<\/em> Again with the \u201cclimate denialism\u201d mantra? You really don\u2019t have a second gear, do you, Scott? I don\u2019t deny \u201cclimate\u201d. I don\u2019t even deny recent warming. I don\u2019t even deny that recent warming is probably mostly due to humans.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Lomborg, Spencer claims climate policy will hurt the poor even as science has overwhelmingly shown the effects of global warming would disproportionately affect the world\u2019s most vulnerable populations. <\/em>\u201cScience\u201d has shown no such thing. Opportunistic researchers have indeed made such claims, though. But Lomborg, Epstein, and Roger Pielke Jr. are better at refuting those claims than I am.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He authored a book entitled: \u201cClimate Confusion: How Global Warming Hysteria Leads to Bad Science, Pandering Politicians and Misguided Policies That Hurt the Poor.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencer did not respond to a request for comment.<\/em> True. I long ago learned which media outlets cannot be trusted to represent what I say fairly.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I suppose I shouldn\u2019t be surprised. For the uninitiated, while Politico is allegedly a news organization, it has a history of supporting Progressive and Leftist causes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":377815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691834949,691818056,691819140,691819142,691833758,691824770,691834948],"class_list":["post-377813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-atmospheric-temperatures","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-science","tag-energy-policy","tag-energy-secretary-chris-wright","tag-politico","tag-scott-waldman","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0roywspencer_13617_a_journalist_sits_at_his_computer_in_the_corner-green-elephant.webp?fit=1356%2C678&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1AhL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":391640,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=391640","url_meta":{"origin":377813,"position":0},"title":"Big U.S. Climate Policy Changes To Be Announced Today","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/30\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will be in Indianapolis today (29 July 2025) to announce major climate regulation changes\u2026so, stay tuned!","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OIG-71-2.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OIG-71-2.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OIG-71-2.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OIG-71-2.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":406773,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=406773","url_meta":{"origin":377813,"position":1},"title":"DOE\u2019s \u201cForbidden Words\u201d Fake Scandal: Politics by Semantics","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, three outlets \u2013\u00a0The Guardian,\u00a0NPR, and\u00a0Politico\u00a0\u2013 ran near-identical stories on what they claim is a Trump administration \u201ccrackdown\u201d on climate language inside the U.S. Department of Energy. At issue: an internal email to staff at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the branch that doles out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQMc34Xy50IJnGEzqnhtV-OE370xk01bLhet0og8BXUasDppZZO9_1RRiYr7Bsrc6XO3xj9epvWnYBQODGI-tLVbn064SyPdTLyfwhV3_lO7OSNw2U__700mWmsyhHKt-1.jpeg?fit=1150%2C732&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQMc34Xy50IJnGEzqnhtV-OE370xk01bLhet0og8BXUasDppZZO9_1RRiYr7Bsrc6XO3xj9epvWnYBQODGI-tLVbn064SyPdTLyfwhV3_lO7OSNw2U__700mWmsyhHKt-1.jpeg?fit=1150%2C732&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQMc34Xy50IJnGEzqnhtV-OE370xk01bLhet0og8BXUasDppZZO9_1RRiYr7Bsrc6XO3xj9epvWnYBQODGI-tLVbn064SyPdTLyfwhV3_lO7OSNw2U__700mWmsyhHKt-1.jpeg?fit=1150%2C732&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQMc34Xy50IJnGEzqnhtV-OE370xk01bLhet0og8BXUasDppZZO9_1RRiYr7Bsrc6XO3xj9epvWnYBQODGI-tLVbn064SyPdTLyfwhV3_lO7OSNw2U__700mWmsyhHKt-1.jpeg?fit=1150%2C732&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQMc34Xy50IJnGEzqnhtV-OE370xk01bLhet0og8BXUasDppZZO9_1RRiYr7Bsrc6XO3xj9epvWnYBQODGI-tLVbn064SyPdTLyfwhV3_lO7OSNw2U__700mWmsyhHKt-1.jpeg?fit=1150%2C732&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":411226,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=411226","url_meta":{"origin":377813,"position":2},"title":"Hiding the Endangerment Finding\u2019s Systemic Biases \u2013 Politico\u2019s Failed Attack on DOE\u2019s Climate Science Report-Part 2","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Politico\u00a0reporters claim the DOE report \u201ccherry-picks mainstream research and omits context,\u201d \u201crelies on outdated studies,\u201d \u201ccites analyses that were not peer reviewed,\u201d and \u201crevives debunked arguments.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"1930s Dust Bowl\"","block_context":{"text":"1930s Dust Bowl","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=1930s-dust-bowl"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMEJ8xQofCYRvfhGcC6Mcv2PtJISsQ6u-X1L3PyzD5dge-wHNEdkKhnVpmlhU0Vg1YLGf4fEbIfYbJUqED32sswO4vXHrSOoJWYaZX0wXmXSx70epLQsHB61TJSa5qb.jpeg?fit=1000%2C608&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMEJ8xQofCYRvfhGcC6Mcv2PtJISsQ6u-X1L3PyzD5dge-wHNEdkKhnVpmlhU0Vg1YLGf4fEbIfYbJUqED32sswO4vXHrSOoJWYaZX0wXmXSx70epLQsHB61TJSa5qb.jpeg?fit=1000%2C608&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMEJ8xQofCYRvfhGcC6Mcv2PtJISsQ6u-X1L3PyzD5dge-wHNEdkKhnVpmlhU0Vg1YLGf4fEbIfYbJUqED32sswO4vXHrSOoJWYaZX0wXmXSx70epLQsHB61TJSa5qb.jpeg?fit=1000%2C608&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMEJ8xQofCYRvfhGcC6Mcv2PtJISsQ6u-X1L3PyzD5dge-wHNEdkKhnVpmlhU0Vg1YLGf4fEbIfYbJUqED32sswO4vXHrSOoJWYaZX0wXmXSx70epLQsHB61TJSa5qb.jpeg?fit=1000%2C608&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352389,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352389","url_meta":{"origin":377813,"position":3},"title":"Lighting Up America: Why Chris Wright Should Be Welcomed, Not Spurned","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/26\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Access to affordable and reliable energy is central to a flourishing society. Everything we do, from waking up in the morning, to going to work, to enjoying time with our families, requires energy. Fortunately, Chris Wright, President-elect Trump\u2019s choice to serve as Secretary of Energy, understands this.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0ISS-46_Glittering_lights_of_the_American_Midwest.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0ISS-46_Glittering_lights_of_the_American_Midwest.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0ISS-46_Glittering_lights_of_the_American_Midwest.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0ISS-46_Glittering_lights_of_the_American_Midwest.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0ISS-46_Glittering_lights_of_the_American_Midwest.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":429187,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=429187","url_meta":{"origin":377813,"position":4},"title":"Trump Is right: Science demands we overturn the \u2018Endangerment Finding\u2019","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Science is on the side of the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to unwind the U.S. from costly climate regulations\u2014much to the consternation of major media platforms that peddle unfounded, politically motivated assertions.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Trump-Zeldin-Endangerment-repeal.png?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Trump-Zeldin-Endangerment-repeal.png?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Trump-Zeldin-Endangerment-repeal.png?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Trump-Zeldin-Endangerment-repeal.png?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0Trump-Zeldin-Endangerment-repeal.png?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352212,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352212","url_meta":{"origin":377813,"position":5},"title":"A Look at President-Elect Trump’s Picks for the Key Energy Policy Positions","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/25\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past two weeks, President-elect Trump has engaged in rapid-fire announcements of his picks for the cabinet and other top positions. Among the announced selections are Trump\u2019s nominees for the three top positions in climate and energy policy: EPA Administrator (Lee Zeldin), Secretary of Energy (Chris Wright), and Secretary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon capture and storage (CCS)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon capture and storage (CCS)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-capture-and-storage-ccs"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/112969c63f6c173932140f9b462da402d-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C592&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/112969c63f6c173932140f9b462da402d-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C592&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/112969c63f6c173932140f9b462da402d-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C592&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/112969c63f6c173932140f9b462da402d-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C592&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/112969c63f6c173932140f9b462da402d-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C592&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=377813"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377818,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377813\/revisions\/377818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/377815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=377813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=377813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=377813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}