Craig Idso is the founder and chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, a research institution that houses his editorial publication, CO2 Science, with the aim of “[separating] reality from rhetoric in the emotionally-charged debate that swirls around the subject of carbon dioxide and global change.” He has also written several books and produced three documentaries.
He has also done extensive work for the Cato Institute, the Heartland Institute, the CO2 Coalition, and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.
As of 2009, Idso is the lead overseer of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC).
Much of Idso’s research concerns the benefits of CO2, as he writes that “it has long been known that rising CO2 boosts plant productivity and growth” and “rising atmospheric CO2 is benefiting the biosphere, rather than harming it.” In another article, he details the “growth-enhancing, water-saving, and stress-ameliorating benefits of atmospheric CO2 enrichment.”
In a report released through the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change, Idso continues to state that “warming has been shown to positively impact human health,” so “we have nothing to fear from increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and global warming… Indeed, these phenomena would appear to be our friends.”
His other articles aim to disprove claims that rising temperatures will lead to higher mortality rates, acidification will negatively affect marine environments, and rising sea levels will erode the world’s coastlines.
In short, Idso does not object to the consensus that the climate is changing. However, he disagrees on the negative effects associated with rising temperatures and CO2 levels, instead believing that they will benefit the globe in the long run.
Leaked documents indicate that Ido has received substantial payments from the Heartland Institute. He also profits from his research center, which has received funding from Exxon Mobil and Peabody Energy.
Climate of Denial