Kent Lassman is the president and CEO of Competitive Enterprise Institute, the conservative think tank that challenges climate alarmism and human effects on climate change. Lassman served on the president’s council at the State Policy Network, a conservative think tank involved in climate denial. From 2001-2006 Lassman served “as an advisor to the Task Force on Telecommunications & Information Technology at the American Legislative Exchange Council,” which is an organization of state legislatures with a record of attacking climate science.
Climate Change
Kent Lassman admits that Earth’s climate is warming, but falsely claims there is “serious scientific debate about the magnitude and rate of climate change, the potential effects caused by warming, and the appropriate policy choices to address these issues.” He has maintained that climate change is not a planetary emergency.
Lassman has written numerous articles using economics to minimize the climate crisis. His articles use misleading or out of context scientific facts to undermine climate science. For example, one article states that Earth’s climate has “only” warmed 1 degree celsius since 1900, but fails to disclose that over half of the warming occurred after 1970 and that the rate of warming is increasing.
Arctic Climate Change
Kent Lassman wrote an article for the Alaska Journal on drilling in Alaska, outlining the economic and free enterprise benefits of development. He states that “free enterprise is essential for entrepreneurship, innovation, and a community’s ability to flourish. Right now, all of this is being threatened in Alaska.” His article completely fails to mention the environmental impacts or climate change.
See also
American Legislative Exchange Council
Competitive Enterprise Institute
State Policy Network
Climate of Denial