Reason Foundation

Climate Change Denial Groups in Denial Reason Foundation

The Reason Foundation was founded in 1978 after the first publication of Reason magazine in 1968. The Reason Foundation seeks to advance “a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including liberty, free markets, and the rule of law.” The Reason Foundation was also a member of the Cooler Heads Coalition, a collection of organizations that deny climate change. The Reason Foundation has been called “another in the Koch brothers’ web of organizations” that “exists largely to ensure that nothing interferes with the flow of money into the Koch’s pockets.”

Climate Change:

Officially, the Reason Foundation accepts the science of climate change. However, its senior fellows do not believe that suggested solutions are, or will be, effective. Recent articles on their blog focus on the economic impact of proposed climate change regulation and seem to undermine policies designed to effectively combat climate change.

In a policy brief published in 2021, Julian Morris, a senior fellow, and Vittorio Nastasi, a policy analyst, claimed that a “green fiscal stimulus” would actually harm people and the economy. It would impose “very large opportunity costs on society, both financially and in terms of human capital.” According to the Reason Foundation, there are other, more economically beneficial ways of creating change than a green fiscal stimulus.

In 2011, Julian Morris published an article titled “How the IPCC Reports Mislead the Public, Exaggerate the Negative Impacts of Climate Change and Ignore the Benefits of Economic Growth.” The article claims that the contradictions in the report allow the IPCC and other organizations to “impos[e] restrictions on human emissions of greenhouse gases.” Later in the article, Morris wrote that global warming actually would have positive impacts, which the IPCC underestimates. Morris believes that the most effective approach would be to “fix the root of the cause of why developing countries are deemed to be most at-risk, namely, poverty,” instead of working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In a recent article, “High-speed Rail Is Unlikely to Play a Major Role In Achieving Climate Goals,” Marc Joffe, a senior policy analyst, wrote that while “advocates of high-speed rail projects sometimes argue that high-speed rail would help reduce emissions and fight climate change…the constriction timelines, costs, and travel patterns of typical high-speed rail projects make that unlikely in the United States.” He continued by saying that the construction would be costly and generate more emissions and people are better off waiting for more electric cars.

In another article published in 2021, “It Is Time for Environmentalism 3.0,” Kenneth P. Green, a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation, claimed that all other iterations of environmentalism have failed to do what they claimed, “have become politically divisive and, in more than a few cases, actually makes the problems worse.” Green wrote that there needs to be less centralization and regulation, hence a movement towards an “Environmentalism 3.0.” Given the Foundation’s focus on economics, he also mentioned that there needs to be an opportunity for individual choices in a “market.”

In 2009, Shikha Dalmia, a former senior analyst, published an article called “The Real Climate Change Deniers,” in which she claimed that the people who advocate for climate science are actually the real climate change deniers. The people who advocate against the existence of climate change, who have been increasing in number in the decade before 2009, are actually correct in their science, according to Dalmia, as the temperature had been fairly consistent prior to 2009 and predicted to cool down after 2009. She then compared the colloquially-known deniers to Galileo, saying that “denying dissenters a voice never serves the cause of science.”

Outreach:

The Reason Foundation publishes the Reason magazine monthly, in which they cover “politics, culture, and ideas through a provocative mix of news, analysis, commentary, and reviews.” Recent editions include The Guillotine Mystique (12/20), The End of Free Speech (1/18), and Russia’s Global Anti-Libertarian Crusade (9/17).

The Reason Foundation also hosts events through the Soho Forum. Most of the events with the Soho Forum are debates, with recent topics including “Time for a More Powerful Presidency?,” “Is Industrial Policy Back in Vogue?,” “Time to Dismantle the Electoral College?,” and “Is Big Tech Taking Over?”

The Reason Foundation hosts an annual “summer camp” at Camp Reason in Utah. Speakers for this summer’s camp include multiple editors from Reason, as well as the President and CEO of Pacific Legal Foundation, an organization that favors government deregulation and also advocates against climate change policy.

The Reason Foundation maintains the reason.com website, which publishes new articles through a libertarian lens. Some recent articles include “Why Isn’t California Safer From Wildfires?” “Biden Wants To ‘Make America California.’ Here’s Why That’s a Terrible Idea.” and “Without a World War, We Have an Uffordable War-Sized Government.”

Funding:

The Reason Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Their website says they receive funding in the form of donations from “individuals, foundations, corporations, and the sale of our publications.”

In the 2020 fiscal year, their total net liabilities and net assets totaled at $15,187,245. Their total revenue was $16,776,577, and the net assets of the Reason Foundation by the end of the year was $13,077,081.

The Reason Foundation has received $3,422,509 from Koch Foundations from 1997 to 2017. David Koch was also a long-time trustee of the Reason Foundation.

The Reason Foundation also received $356,000 from ExxonMobil from 1992 to 2007, with $35,000 designated for climate change programs.