When the Vatican made the announcement that it would be hosting a climate summit on very short notice, Climate Depot sprang into action.
As a Catholic and a climate skeptic, I was following closely Pope Francis views and policy recommendations. I had already written an OpEd in January and did a Fox News segment on the Holy Father’s climate views and proposals. If the Vatican gives its rubber stamp to UN science claims and ‘solutions’, a climate change misled and confused public would be certain to follow. The Pope’s involvement in this issue has the potential to massively mislead not only the world’s Catholics, but other religious people as well. And the pressure was on. See: Vatican Climate Workshop Pressures Pope Francis to Go ‘Full Warmist’
Upon hearing of the Vatican climate summit, CFACT began arranging for my travel to Rome to join up with a delegation of skeptics with the Heartland Institute. Here is a report of the key points made: Climate Skeptics In Rome Warn Pope Francis of ‘Unholy Alliance’ With UN Climate Agenda
The mission proved to be an overwhelming success. The skeptical delegation helped re-frame the entire Vatican/Pope Francis narrative to point out that Catholics worldwide may be weary of an activist climate Pope aligned with a UN agenda. The skeptics helped publicize an Open Letter to Francis. (See: Skeptics Deliver An Open Letter to Pope Francis) The Vatican is now on notice through worldwide media that any encyclical or lobbying activities of Pope Francis on ‘global warming’ will be met with vociferous and well-reasoned arguments, both scientific, economic and religious.
There was talk that many of the establishment media were disappointed with the Vatican climate statement released following the summit at the Vatican. Perhaps the large skeptical presence on hand in Rome prompted the Vatican to pull back some of the more extreme climate claims. See: Environmental Statement by Vatican Does Not Meet Media Expectations
But the one-day Vatican climate summit still produced many worrisome claims that were quickly denounced by scientists. See: Scientist Dr. William Briggs on Vatican climate report: ‘They have some real whoppers in their summary document’
And the economics of the Vatican report were also to the extreme: Vatican Paper: Ditch Capitalism To Stop Global Warming
Climate Depot’s mission was to make a public appeal to the Vatican to consider several key points:
- Persuade the Vatican to allow more than one view to advise its views and policies: Please allow open debate with multiple viewpoints present at the summit and in seeking out advisors on the science of ‘global warming.’ There has been not even been a ‘consensus’ on climate change within the Vatican itself. In 2007, during Pope Benedict XVI tenure, the Vatican hosted a climate summit through Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and invited many different perspectives in the climate debate to participate. The 2007 event included Atmospheric Physicist and climate skeptic Dr. Fred Singer and Cal Beisner and the President of the World Federation of Scientists Dr. Antonio Zichichi. In addition, senior Vatican officials are on record as being major climate skeptics. Cardinal George Pell who now serves at the head of the Vatican bank declared in 2006: See: Catholic Cardinal George Pell: ‘In the past, pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods. Today they demand a reduction in Co2 emissions’ And in 2011, Pell wrote an essay and delivered a speech on his skepticism. In 2007, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, sought out more than one perspective on climate change causes and impacts. Also in 2007, Pope Benedict was also on record denouncing the type of fear mongering activists that Pope Francis invited into the Vatican in 2015. See Flashback 2007: Pope Benedict condemns the climate change prophets of doom
- My goal was to inform the world through media coverage that the Vatican was being misled by only listening to the heavily politicized UN climate view. The Vatican and Pope Francis were not allowing dissent or alternative perspectives to be heard – and the voices they chose to hear were not even within the mainstream of the global warming establishment. The Vatican was ONLY listening to extreme voices within the climate movement that even other climate activists were not comfortable with. Many of the Vatican’s key climate advisors promoted policies directly at odds with Catholic doctrine and beliefs. The proceedings of the workshop included activists like Naomi Oreskes, Peter Wadhams, Martin Rees, Hans-Jochim Schellhuber, Jeffrey Sachs and Joseph Stiglitz.
- Jeffrey Sachs, a UN special advisor UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Sachs tweeted on November 10 that ‘Climate liars like Rupert Murdoch & Koch Brothers have more & more blood on their hands as climate disasters claim lives across the world.”
- Peter Wadhams is a scientist that even his fellow global warming advocates distance themselves from. See: Warmists attack fellow warmist Prof. Peter Wadhams for ‘using graphs with ridiculous projections with no basis in physics’
- German climate adviser Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber was also at the Vatican climate presentation in 2014. Does Pope Francis want to align himself with Schellnhuber’s views? See: Flashback 2009: German Climate Advisor Schellnhuber ‘proposes creation of a CO2 budget for every person on planet!’
- Naomi Oreskes is known for advocating climate skeptics who dissent from the UN/Gore climate alarmist view be prosecuted as mobsters! See: Merchants of Smear: Prosecute Skeptics Like Gangsters?! Warmist Naomi Oreskes likes the idea of having climate ‘deniers’ prosecuted under the RICO act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).
- My intention was to inform the media and the Vatican that relying on the UN as its source of climate ‘science’ was doing a disservice to the world’s Catholics. During press conferences, presentations, interviews and discussion, I was able to offer evidence that the UN IPCC was a political organization masquerading as a ‘science’ body. I cited UN lead authors who have now resigned the IPCC or had their names removed due to the bastardization of the science for political purposes in order to fit the climate ‘narrative.’
- I made the key point during the Roman mission to point out that having Pope Francis publicly promote one narrow UN climate panel view of climate change and promote a specific political UN climate agreement would sow confusion among Catholics and be an unprecedented step for a Pontiff. I noted that having a Pope personally lobby for a UN agreement and hype climate fears would confuse Catholics into believing the ones views on climate change and alleged ‘solutions’ are now part of being a good Catholic.
- The Vatican aligning itself with a UN climate agenda was at odds with major aspects of Catholic teachings and doctrine. The UN’s climate agenda includes heavy doses of development restrictions, promotion of contraceptives, population control, abortions, etc. (Note: Whatever your own views are on these issues, they are at odds with Catholic doctrine.) The Pope was facing the danger of making those Catholics worldwide, who opposed climate fear predictions and UN ‘solutions’, feel like they were not following their faith.
- The Vatican was being misled on development and poverty issues as they relate to ‘climate change.’ The Vatican’s well placed and long established concern for the developing world’s poor was being hijacked by a radical UN agenda that seeks to prevent life-saving fossil fuel energy development in the world’s poorest regions. The Pope’s concern that ‘climate change’ impacts were going to harm the world’s poor the most was entirely misplaced. Preventing the poverty stricken nations of the world from obtaining cheap and plentiful fossil fuels meant they could not develop and thus insulate themselves from ‘climate change’ whether it be man-made or natural. “The Pope’s claim that “It is man who has slapped nature in the face” needs to be weighed against the fact that fossil fuels have allowed mankind to stop nature from slapping man in the face. The more we develop with fossil fuels and increase our wealth and standard of living, the more we can inoculate ourselves from the ravages of nature. The key point I made repeatedly was that centrally planning energy economics by restricting fossil fuels due to unfounded climate fears in the development world was ‘immoral’.
- The science behind man-made global warming fears is actually weakening considerably. I noted the 97% ‘consensus’ fallacy by citing studies by UN lead authors who now say such claims are “pulled out of thin air” with no basis in fact. I noted how extreme weather was stable or declining on almost every measure and noted how global temperatures were in a standstill for over 18 years and everything from sea levels to polar bears, the climate narrative was failing. I also noted how prominent scientists (many politically left) who used to believe in man-made global warming fears were now reversing themselves, including many UN scientists.
The Results of Climate Depot’s Vatican Trip:
- Extensive media coverage of Climate Depot’s two press conferences and questions inside the Vatican summit appeared in nearly every major news outlet in the world. From the New York Times, to USA Today, UK Guardian, UK Independent, Associated Press, The Boston Globe, Scientific American, Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, etc. Climate Depot’s Vatican mission was reported on around the world. Small sampling of international media coverage: New York Times Features Climate Depot: Morano: ‘Climate change issues are now an article of faith’ – Wash. Post features Climate Depot as part of ‘skeptical delegation’ at Vatican – Morano: ‘The global warming narrative has weakened’ – UK Independent features Climate Depot: Vatican interrupted by ‘papal heavies’ half-way through making their point – Scientific American features Morano at the Vatican – National Catholic Reporter features Climate Depot: Skeptics issues strong, blunt warnings to Pope Francis – Climate Depot’s Vatican trip prompts editorial reference in NYT: ‘Much to the dismay of some conservatives, he is confronting human-caused global warming’ – USA Today features Climate Depot: Pope lobbying for a UN climate treaty is an ‘unprecedented action and massively misguided’
- Attending the climate summit inside the Vatican City and meeting, asking questions of UN Sec. General Ban Ki Moon with Vatican staff and making it known that climate skeptics were numerous and articulate. The rude treatment we received, including the threat to remove us for asking inconvenient question of the UN Sec. General was further testament to our effectiveness. See:
- VATICAN HEAVIES SILENCE ‘CLIMATE HERETICS’ AT UN PAPAL SUMMIT IN ROME & Vatican to skeptic asking question at conference: ‘You have to control yourself or you will be escorted out of here.’
- The Vatican mission by Climate Depot was so successful that climate activist organization like Media Matters (funded by George Soros) were beside themselves with angst at how effective and well-heard the skeptics delegation was around the world in the media. See: Skeptics in Rome so successful that warmist Media Matters laments: ‘Mainstream Media Advance Climate Science Deniers’ Misinformation Campaign Against The Pope’
- Climate Depot is far from finished on this ‘unholy alliance’ between Vatican and the United Nations climate agenda. Climate Depot will be ready with a rapid response when the Pope’s climate encyclical comes out sometime in late Spring or Summer. Climate Depot will be on hand in New York City in September at UN headquarters when the Pope essentially lobbies the UN for a climate agreement. Climate Depot will be on hand when the Pope and President Obama meet about ‘global warming. (See: Obama Plans to Discuss Climate Change With Pope Francis) And Climate Depot will be in Paris in December when President Obama and Sec. of State John Kerry intend to sign a new UN climate accord.
Related Links:
VATICAN HEAVIES SILENCE ‘CLIMATE HERETICS’ AT UN PAPAL SUMMIT IN ROME
Climate Depot Round Up: Vatican & UN’s shut down of dissent is increasing in climate debate
Climate Skeptics In Rome Warn Pope Francis of ‘Unholy Alliance’ With UN Climate Agenda
Climate Skeptics Descend on Vatican – Seek to Influence Pope on ‘Global Warming’
