Koch-Funded Tim Phillips is Still Confused About Climate Change

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This piece was co-written by Ryan Koronowski, Alliance for Climate Protection Research Director and Josh Nelson, Alliance for Climate Protection New Media Director.

This week, CNNโ€™s โ€œParker Spitzerโ€ spoke with Tim Phillips, the head of the front group Americans for Prosperity thatโ€™s funded by the oil company Koch Industries. Mr. Phillips was up to his old tricks. While acknowledging that he is not a scientist, he said that to believe climate science isnโ€™t โ€œfar from settledโ€ would be โ€œarrogance.โ€


Of course, his claim is the furthest thing from the truth. This was simply another attempt by an oil industry-funded, climate denial mouthpiece to try and convince Americans that climate change isnโ€™t happening. But this particularly insidious brand of snake oil has no basis in reality. In fact, thereโ€™s overwhelming evidence that climate change is happening now and is caused by pollution from fossil fuels. Americans for Prosperity has a seemingly harmless-sounding name, but they are heavily funded by foundations run by David Koch, co-owner of the oil refinery and pipeline company Koch Industries.

While you might not have heard of Koch Industries before they won Repower Americaโ€™s Snake Oil Award for Public Deception, the Koch brothers are doing everything they can to mislead the public and influence our political leaders. And it doesnโ€™t stop with backing third party smear machines; Koch has also spent nearly $17 million lobbying Congress in the past two years.

Itโ€™s not over yet. In January, Koch Industries executives and high finance head honchos will be meeting at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa to โ€œdevelop strategies to counter the most severe threats facing our free society,โ€ which evidently includes โ€œclimate change alarmism.โ€ A similar meeting this year featured a presentation on voter mobilization by none other than Tim Phillips.

The fight to solve climate change is about more than just a back-and-forth debate about scientific issues that have long been settled. Instead, we should acknowledge that facts donโ€™t have a political party, and get to work building a clean energy economy that can create millions of jobs for Americans.

Tim Phillips may claim not to believe in climate change, but as Upton Sinclair once wrote, โ€œIt is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understandingย it.โ€

Thanks to the Wonk Room over at Think Progress for first catching this story.

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