Coal mining CEO Robert Murray looks at the Paris climate talks and sees nothing but a farce.
A two-week parade of world leaders, scientists and corporate executives attesting to the dangers of global warming has failed to persuade the head of one of America’s biggest coal companies, who dismisses the idea as a hoax.
Now, with envoys in Paris inching toward a final agreement, Murray sees nothing but disaster for the world’s poor and for his already beleaguered industry.
“To me, it is a tragedy,” said Murray, chief executive officer of Murray Energy Corp., the biggest closely-held U.S. coal producer, during an interview from his offices in Ohio’s mining region. “They are condemning the poorest people on Earth to energy poverty for no environmental benefit whatsoever.”
In France, there’s cautious optimism for an agreement that will curtail fossil-fuel pollution blamed for imperiling the world’s climate. Among the dwindling ranks of global-warming skeptics — including businesses that carry the biggest burden in cutting emissions — the feelings run closer to anxiety and dismay. Instead of saving the world, Paris is marching it off a cliff, they say.
“These global warming alarmists have done more destruction to America and will continue to do more so than the terrorists have done to date,” Murray said.
Counter Arguments
The Paris talks have given climate change skeptics a fresh platform to promote their counter arguments. The U.S.-based Heartland Institute held its own conference there this week dedicated to “bringing climate realism to Paris.” The meeting drew a few dozen attendees, according to media reports.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-11/twilight-of-the-skeptic-climate-critics-fume-as-talks-near-deal