Climate Change — Where the Experts Make Fools of Themselves

From THE MANHATTAN CONTRARIAN

Francis Menton

Much has been written recently about the death of expertise in America. On one subject after another, those claiming to be experts have proved to be completely wrong. Covid provided multiple examples: from the origins (did it come from a lab leak?), to the efficacy of vaccines, to the necessity of lockdowns and “social distancing.” Another famous example was the Hunter Biden laptop, stated by 50+ “experts” from the intelligence community to carry “the classic earmarks” of “Russian disinformation.”

But has there been any area where self-proclaimed experts have more made fools of themselves than the area of “climate change”?

A multi-trillion dollar industry has grown up based on models and assurances by “experts” that there was a “climate crisis” that could only be solved by transition to a new energy future of windmills and solar panels. The government would just order it to occur! President Joe Biden and his administration totally bought into the narrative. One of Biden’s first-day Executive Orders (Number 14008, January 20, 2021) proclaimed the “climate crisis” to which the solution would be found in an “all of government” agenda to transform the energy system. Excerpt:

The United States and the world face a profound climate crisis. We have a narrow moment to pursue action at home and abroad in order to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of that crisis and to seize the opportunity that tackling climate change presents. . . . We must listen to science—and act. . . . It is the policy of my Administration to organize and deploy the full capacity of its agencies to combat the climate crisis to implement a Government-wide approach that reduces climate pollution in every sector of the economy. . . .

Following this EO, regulations burst forth from the EPA, the Energy Department, the Interior Department, the SEC, and many more to hobble fossil fuels and further a mythical transition to renewables. Fossil fuel power plants were to be banned by regulation. Same for non-electric vehicles. The (mis-named) Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 threw uncapped hundreds of billions of dollars for “green energy” into the mix. The private sector followed with near-universal pledges of fealty to the agenda. Less than four years ago today, this is where we found ourselves.

Today, in the real world, nobody buys this any more. And by the “real world,” I mean the private sector. Ford, GM and Stellantis/Chrysler have taken huge write-offs of their EV investments. The Net Zero Banking Alliance — a cartel of essentially all major banks, promising to choke off investment in fossil fuel infrastructure — disbanded in October 2025.

And more: A couple of weeks ago Latitude Media reported that the massive Bill Gates-backed green energy fund called Breakthrough Energy was shutting down its Catalyst affiliate. That’s the entity that provided funding for what were supposed to be the new technologies that were needed to make the green energy transition possible. Excerpt:

Breakthrough Energy has decided to cease new investments from Catalyst, its first-of-a-kind project finance arm, marking the latest setback for climate tech start ups trying to scale up in an already difficult market.  . . . Catalyst set a goal to mobilize a total of $15 billion in project finance for technologies like green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, direct air capture, long-duration energy storage, and low-carbon cement and steel.

It looks like “philanthropic capital” is not going to be the solution for green energy. No more private capital for “green hydrogen” and “carbon capture” — two technologies that the Manhattan Contrarian has ridiculed as having no hope of ever becoming economic. Lara Pierpoint of the Prime Coalition had this to say:

“The fact that Catalyst is disappearing is a huge blow,” said Lara Pierpoint, managing director for Trellis Climate at Prime Coalition, which deploys philanthropic capital to early-stage climate tech, in an interview with Latitude Media. “There isn’t a replacement for what Catalyst was doing.”

And of course, the massive federal government gravy train for green energy is rapidly disappearing under President Trump.

But don’t worry — the “experts” are still out there making fools of themselves as if nothing has gone wrong. I’m talking particularly about people in not-for-profits and universities who don’t need to justify their existence by profits or success. I could choose from hundreds of examples, but for today’s Climate Change Expert Fool of the Day, let me pick on my own alma mater, Yale University.

Go to Yale’s website — or maybe that should be plural, websites — and you will find hundreds of pages about the university’s various climate initiatives, programs, and communications. All of these appear to be marching forward without modification as if nothing has changed. For example, check out the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025, a document of some 50+ pages. They don’t provide an issue date, but clearly this document was uttered after Donald Trump had become President for the second time. I’ll give you a few choice excerpts:

Ambitions, Objectives, and Goals

Yale’s 2025 sustainability commitments are organized into nine ambitions. These are detailed by 20 objectives and 38 goals. Each goal is supported by numerous strategies; key tactical milestones are included in the Steps and Targets tables.

Any resemblance to a Soviet five-year plan is purely coincidental. From the same Sustainability Plan, here’s an example of some academic writing that you too can aspire to if only you can obtain a fancy Ivy League degree:

This plan sets the stage for scholarship that challenges assumptions and helps to chart courses toward a more sustainable future. It was designed to invite communication and collaboration among academic disciplines and between the scholarly and operational sides of the University. This plan offers a dynamic and unifying platform for participation of all members of the Yale community, including students, alumni, faculty, staff, and leadership. It will also build on and enrich a diverse set of partnerships with leading institutions and networks in all parts of the world and in all sectors.

Whew! Has anyone told them yet that real world CO2 emissions go up continuously year by year and Yale’s emissions are so trivial that zeroing them out would never be noticed? Apparently not, because, the Sustainability Plan contains separate sub-plans for entities like the Library, the Divinity School and the Athletics Program.

And then there is the Yale Climate Communications Program, the purpose of which appears to be to scare the wits out of the population in order to keep the funding gravy train going. Their pitch:

Global warming is one of the greatest threats – and opportunities – of the 21st century. Our collective fate will be determined by the choices of 8 billion people and counting. We are scientists studying the causes and consequences of public opinion and behavior.

Yale’s climate “experts” are backed by a $44 billion endowment, plus regular grants from left-wing foundations with aggregate assets a multiple of that. They will not go away any time soon. So for the foreseeable future we can look forward to being entertained by their folly.