Despite the abundance of available seating space at the climate denial event, two reporters from DeSmog UK were ordered to leave the event which had been described as being "open to the public." (Photo: Nick Surgey/PR Watch)
Dec 07, 2015
A climate change denial event in Paris, organized jointly by two US groups, the coal-funded Heartland Institute and The Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), held to coincide with the UN climate COP21 talks, quietly flopped Monday when hardly anyone turned up to listen to what actual experts consider to be Heartland's counter-factual nonsense.
Billed as the "Day of Examining the Data," the event was held at the Hotel California, across town from where the actual UN negotiations are taking place, Paris. Only about 30 people were in attendance, which is all the more embarrassing since the agenda featured roughly half this number as speakers. The turnout was only slightly better on the live stream, with only about another 100 people watching online.
Despite the abundance of available seating space, two reporters from DeSmog UK were ordered to leave the event which had been described as being "open to the public."
Trying to put a brave face on the embarrassingly low numbers, James Taylor of the Heartland Institute claimed that some meetings taking place inside the COP featured just ten people. "So congratulations, you have already surpassed the impact of the United Nations Conference of the Parties," Taylor told the room.
The COP21 itself includes an estimated 40,000 people.
Both Heartland Institute and CFACT have fundraised for several months to hold the Paris event, with the Heartland Institute having raised more than $53,000 from a controversial Indiegogo campaign. The amount raised by CFACT is not known.
The Heartland Institute is probably best known for its controversial 2012 billboard campaign comparing scientists who accept the science around climate change with the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Heartland has a long history of receiving cash from fossil fuel companies, including from ExxonMobil and groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, both of which have also funded CFACT.
Most recently, when Alpha Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2015, it was revealed by Lee Fang of the Intercept via court filings that the US coal giant has also quietly funded Heartland.
The US based lawyer and climate denier, Chris Horner was also in the room at the Paris event. Horner is best known for filing large numbers of speculative Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests with climate scientists based at US universities, to the frequency that it has been described as "harassment." The Alpha bankruptcy documents revealed Horner also receives financial support from Alpha.
CFACT will follow up the day of denial with another event nearby, an evening "red carpet premiere" of its new climate change denial film, Climate Hustle. CMD requested a ticket for the screening, advertised as being open to the public. After initially being accepted, this was later withdrawn and CMD was told its reporter would not be allowed to attend.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nick Surgey
Nick Surgey is an investigative reporter and the director of Documented, a watchdog group that investigates how corporations manipulate public policy. His research has been widely featured, including by The Guardian, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the Colbert Report. Nick was previously director of research at the Center for Media and Democracy, and prior to that, staff counsel at Common Cause, where he led the research and legal work on the group's investigation into the American Legislative Exchange Council and its Supreme Court Ethics project.
A climate change denial event in Paris, organized jointly by two US groups, the coal-funded Heartland Institute and The Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), held to coincide with the UN climate COP21 talks, quietly flopped Monday when hardly anyone turned up to listen to what actual experts consider to be Heartland's counter-factual nonsense.
Billed as the "Day of Examining the Data," the event was held at the Hotel California, across town from where the actual UN negotiations are taking place, Paris. Only about 30 people were in attendance, which is all the more embarrassing since the agenda featured roughly half this number as speakers. The turnout was only slightly better on the live stream, with only about another 100 people watching online.
Despite the abundance of available seating space, two reporters from DeSmog UK were ordered to leave the event which had been described as being "open to the public."
Trying to put a brave face on the embarrassingly low numbers, James Taylor of the Heartland Institute claimed that some meetings taking place inside the COP featured just ten people. "So congratulations, you have already surpassed the impact of the United Nations Conference of the Parties," Taylor told the room.
The COP21 itself includes an estimated 40,000 people.
Both Heartland Institute and CFACT have fundraised for several months to hold the Paris event, with the Heartland Institute having raised more than $53,000 from a controversial Indiegogo campaign. The amount raised by CFACT is not known.
The Heartland Institute is probably best known for its controversial 2012 billboard campaign comparing scientists who accept the science around climate change with the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Heartland has a long history of receiving cash from fossil fuel companies, including from ExxonMobil and groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, both of which have also funded CFACT.
Most recently, when Alpha Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2015, it was revealed by Lee Fang of the Intercept via court filings that the US coal giant has also quietly funded Heartland.
The US based lawyer and climate denier, Chris Horner was also in the room at the Paris event. Horner is best known for filing large numbers of speculative Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests with climate scientists based at US universities, to the frequency that it has been described as "harassment." The Alpha bankruptcy documents revealed Horner also receives financial support from Alpha.
CFACT will follow up the day of denial with another event nearby, an evening "red carpet premiere" of its new climate change denial film, Climate Hustle. CMD requested a ticket for the screening, advertised as being open to the public. After initially being accepted, this was later withdrawn and CMD was told its reporter would not be allowed to attend.
Nick Surgey
Nick Surgey is an investigative reporter and the director of Documented, a watchdog group that investigates how corporations manipulate public policy. His research has been widely featured, including by The Guardian, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the Colbert Report. Nick was previously director of research at the Center for Media and Democracy, and prior to that, staff counsel at Common Cause, where he led the research and legal work on the group's investigation into the American Legislative Exchange Council and its Supreme Court Ethics project.
A climate change denial event in Paris, organized jointly by two US groups, the coal-funded Heartland Institute and The Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), held to coincide with the UN climate COP21 talks, quietly flopped Monday when hardly anyone turned up to listen to what actual experts consider to be Heartland's counter-factual nonsense.
Billed as the "Day of Examining the Data," the event was held at the Hotel California, across town from where the actual UN negotiations are taking place, Paris. Only about 30 people were in attendance, which is all the more embarrassing since the agenda featured roughly half this number as speakers. The turnout was only slightly better on the live stream, with only about another 100 people watching online.
Despite the abundance of available seating space, two reporters from DeSmog UK were ordered to leave the event which had been described as being "open to the public."
Trying to put a brave face on the embarrassingly low numbers, James Taylor of the Heartland Institute claimed that some meetings taking place inside the COP featured just ten people. "So congratulations, you have already surpassed the impact of the United Nations Conference of the Parties," Taylor told the room.
The COP21 itself includes an estimated 40,000 people.
Both Heartland Institute and CFACT have fundraised for several months to hold the Paris event, with the Heartland Institute having raised more than $53,000 from a controversial Indiegogo campaign. The amount raised by CFACT is not known.
The Heartland Institute is probably best known for its controversial 2012 billboard campaign comparing scientists who accept the science around climate change with the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Heartland has a long history of receiving cash from fossil fuel companies, including from ExxonMobil and groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, both of which have also funded CFACT.
Most recently, when Alpha Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2015, it was revealed by Lee Fang of the Intercept via court filings that the US coal giant has also quietly funded Heartland.
The US based lawyer and climate denier, Chris Horner was also in the room at the Paris event. Horner is best known for filing large numbers of speculative Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests with climate scientists based at US universities, to the frequency that it has been described as "harassment." The Alpha bankruptcy documents revealed Horner also receives financial support from Alpha.
CFACT will follow up the day of denial with another event nearby, an evening "red carpet premiere" of its new climate change denial film, Climate Hustle. CMD requested a ticket for the screening, advertised as being open to the public. After initially being accepted, this was later withdrawn and CMD was told its reporter would not be allowed to attend.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.