European Institute for Climate and Energy

European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE)

Background

Europรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie (EIKE), the European Institute for Climate and Energy in English, is a German climate change denialย organizationย founded in February 2007 in Hanover.1Kate Aronoff. โ€œDenial by a Different Name,โ€ The Intercept, April 17, 2018. Archived May 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/bqOwR

The group hosts a conference on climate change in Europe, which brings many of the same speakers as the Heartland Institute’s International Conference on Climate Change in the US. EIKE has also co-hosted the Heartland Institute‘s conferences in the past.

EIKE’s slogan isย โ€œNicht das Klima ist bedroht, sondern unsere Freiheit! Umweltschutz: Ja! Klimaschutz: Nein,โ€ which roughly translates to โ€œThe climate is not at risk, but our freedom! Environmental protection: Yes! Climate protection: No.โ€2Homepage, Europรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie. Archived October 30, 2015. Translated with ย Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1vGgd

EIKE โ€œrejects any ‘climate policy’โ€ that would cause increases in takes while supporting the creation of โ€œpolicy initiativesโ€ by โ€œproviding scientific expertise. Holger J. Thuss,ย president of EIKE, is also the co-founder of CFACT Europe. EIKE’s general secretary, Wolfgang Mรผller, is responsible for the Climate Change Programme of CFACT.3โ€œAbout EIKE,โ€ย EIKE – Europรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie.ย Archived October 30, 2015.Translated with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vjEIl 4โ€œEuropรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie,โ€ SourceWatch Profile. Archived October 30, 2015. 

Alternative for Germany (AfD) & Heartland Institute Connections

In May 2019,ย Spiegelย reported EIKE was working closely with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.ย Spiegelย notes that โ€œEIKE is not a scientific institute, but merely an association. There are no legal restrictions on the term ‘institute.’โ€5โ€œAfD Hopes to Win Votes by Opposing Climate Protection,โ€ Spiegel Online, May 6, 2019. Archived May 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/yH28p

โ€œOn its website, the group argues that climate policy is a ‘pretense’ย for leaders to ‘control the economy and the population’ย and to โ€œburden people with taxes,โ€ย Spiegelย ads. โ€œIt tries to stir up hatred against the ‘Friday for Future’ย demonstrations and against Greta Thunberg, who some EIKE members refer to as ‘Greta Tuna’ย or that ‘climate protection hussy.’ย As far as institutes go, this one only seems to churn out unsophisticated propaganda.โ€6โ€œAfD Hopes to Win Votes by Opposing Climate Protection,โ€ Spiegel Online, May 6, 2019. Archived May 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/yH28p

Michael Limburg of EIKE claimedย by phone thatย โ€EIKE is unaffiliated with any political party.โ€ However, โ€œLimburg himself ran as an AfD candidate in the national election in Gerany and co-wrote a paper for the party’s federal committee on energy policy, which now serves as the basis for the party’s climate policy. EIKE spokesperson Horst-Joachim Lรผdecke, a physicist, was invited by the AfD as an expert on multiple occasions.โ€7โ€œAfD Hopes to Win Votes by Opposing Climate Protection,โ€ Spiegel Online, May 6, 2019. Archived May 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/yH28p

Spiegelย also highlights EIKE’s connection to the Heartland Institute, which โ€œwhich provides EIKE with support at conferences.โ€ When asked about the ties to Heartland,ย Limburg confirmed that EIKE was โ€œloosely connectedโ€ to both Heartland and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrowย (CFACT). Both groups have recieved significant funding from both the oil industry (over $500,000 apiece from ExxonMobil)ย and right-wing foundations like the Mercers and Koch Family Foundations.8โ€œAfD Hopes to Win Votes by Opposing Climate Protection,โ€ Spiegel Online, May 6, 2019. Archived May 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/yH28p

Stance on Climate Change

โ€œThe assertion of ‘man-made climate change’ is not justified as a science and therefore a fraud.โ€9โ€œAbout EIKE,โ€ย EIKE – Europรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie.ย Archived October 30, 2015.Translated with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vjEIl

โ€œIn a comprehensive examination โ€ฆ we have no justifiable causal CO2 global warming, but periodic temperature fluctuations [of] normal proportions. Accordingly, the atmosphere since 1998 – so for 10 years – [has] not warmed since 2003 and it is actually much cooler again.โ€10โ€œClimate Change: An Open Letter to Chancellor Merkel – ‘refute temperature measurements from 1701 human-caused temperature fluctuations’,โ€ EIKE, July 26, 2009. Archived February 1, 2011.ย Translated with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ypShk

Funding

According to their website, EIKE is funded by voluntary contributions from its members and donations.11โ€œAbout EIKE,โ€ย EIKE – Europรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie.ย Archived October 30, 2015.Translated with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vjEIl

SourceWatch reports that EIKE denies ever receiving funding from the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT).12โ€œEuropรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie,โ€ SourceWatch Profile. Archived October 30, 2015. 

Key People

EIKE listed the following people on their website as of October, 2015:13โ€œImprint,โ€ EIKE. Archived October 30, 2015. Translatedย with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Y7Dat

In the past (as of 2011), EIKE also listedย Wolfgang Mรผller as its General Secretary.14โ€œIV. Internationale Klimaund Energiekonferenzโ€ย (PDF), EIKE. November 26, 2011.ย Archived .pdfย on file atย DeSmog.

Advisory Board

According to EIKE’s website, ย Advisory Board Members include:15โ€œAdvisory Board,โ€ EIKE. Archived October 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iWcnE

Actions

December 3, 2019

EIKE co-sponsored a rebuttal to the United Nationsโ€™ COP25 climate summit in Madrid. The event, titled โ€œRebutting the United Nationsโ€™ Climate Delusion,โ€ was held in collaboration with the Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the CO2 Coalition. Deniers of consensus climate science in attendance included William Happer, EIKEโ€™s Wolfgang Mรผller, Anthony Watts, Tom Harris, Stanley Goldenberg, and Christopher Monckton.16Alex Newman. โ€œSkeptics Bring Science to UN,โ€ The New American, December 6, 2019. Archived December 7, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/qd7ui. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

Heartlandโ€™s James Taylor described the event as a โ€œclimate reality forum,โ€ and said:17Alex Newman. โ€œSkeptics Bring Science to UN,โ€ The New American, December 6, 2019. Archived December 7, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/qd7ui. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œGood news isnโ€™t bad news. [โ€ฆ] The evidence for a climate crisis simply doesnโ€™t hold up. And that is not about attacking science, as many people would lead you to believe. Itโ€™s performing science, itโ€™s advancing science. And again the news is good news, and thatโ€™s excellent for humanity, itโ€™s excellent for people around the world, who would like to escape poverty and not be held down by energy restrictions imposed by the United Nations and national governments.โ€18Alex Newman. โ€œSkeptics Bring Science to UN,โ€ The New American, December 6, 2019. Archived December 7, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/qd7ui. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

William Happer, a former member of President Trumpโ€™s National Security Council, opened his presentation with:

โ€œWe are here under false pretenses, wasting our time talking about a non-existent climate emergency. And It’s hard to understand how much further the shrillness can go, as this started out as global warming, then it was climate change or global weirding, now it is climate crisis and climate emergency, what next, but stick around, it will happen. I hope sooner or later enough people recognize the phoniness of this bizarre environmental cult and bring it to an end.โ€19Alex Newman. โ€œSkeptics Bring Science to UN,โ€ The New American, December 6, 2019. Archived December 7, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/qd7ui. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

May 14, 2019

EIKE promoted a climate change denial symposium held in the German parliament and coordinated by the far-right AfD (Alternative fรผr Deutschland) party, which won seats in the Bundestag in 2017. Featured speakers at the event included Christopher Monckton, Thomas Wysmuller, Gernot Patzelt, and Henrik Svensmark.20Kate Connolly. โ€œGermanyโ€™s AfD turns on Greta Thunberg as it embraces climate denial,โ€ The Guardian, May 14, 2019. Archived May 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/GM8XL 21Von Edgar L. Gรคrtner. โ€œ14. Mai 2019 โ€“ Bundestagsabgeordnete setzen Fakten gegen CO2-Hysterie und Klima-Aktionismus,โ€ eike-klima-energie.eu, May 4, 2019. Archived May 9, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.fo/LrXgy

EIKE president Holger Thuss denied that his organization was supporting AfDโ€™s event in spite of the fact that it was promoted on EIKEโ€™s website to โ€œset facts against CO2 hysteria and climate activism.โ€22Kate Connolly. โ€œGermanyโ€™s AfD turns on Greta Thunberg as it embraces climate denial,โ€ The Guardian, May 14, 2019. Archived May 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/GM8XL 23Von Edgar L. Gรคrtner. โ€œ14. Mai 2019 โ€“ Bundestagsabgeordnete setzen Fakten gegen CO2-Hysterie und Klima-Aktionismus,โ€ eike-klima-energie.eu, May 4, 2019. Archived May 9, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.fo/LrXgy

The AfD accelerated its promotion of climate change denial since the emergence of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg in August 2018. A smear campaign against Thunberg mocked her autism as a form of โ€œpsychosisโ€ and compared her to a cult leader and a member of a Nazi youth organization. AfD attributed Thunbergโ€™s popularity to the work of โ€œPR professionals seeking to bedevil the plant-nutrient carbon dioxide.โ€24Kate Connolly. โ€œGermanyโ€™s AfD turns on Greta Thunberg as it embraces climate denial,โ€ The Guardian, May 14, 2019. Archived May 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/GM8XL 25Jonathan Watts. โ€œGreat Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: โ€˜Some people can let things go. I canโ€™tโ€™,โ€ The Guardian, March 11, 2019. Archived May 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.fo/PItiG

An investigation conducted by Greenpeace Unearthed and the Institute of Strategic Dialogue revealed that AfDโ€™s social media posts attacking climate change science in general and Greta Thunberg in particular nearly quadrupled in the weeks prior to the May 14 symposium.26Damian Kahya. โ€œGerman far right targets Greta Thunberg in anti-climate push,โ€ Unearthed, May 14, 2019. Archived May 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.fo/ooUG4

Speaking to the Guardian, a representative of Greenpeace Germany said of the event:

โ€œThe AfD is using the Bundestag as a stage for its dissemination of climate lies. They invite fake experts to a so-called symposium on climate change to generate content for mass dissemination via social media channels and stir up hatred and anger on the internet. We are experiencing a shift to the right on social media and in society. In a short period of time, the new right has established its own counter-society on climate issues. With troll armies, agitating magazines and the support of climate skeptics like EIKE, it has created its own sphere that is massively underestimated.โ€27Kate Connolly. โ€œGermanyโ€™s AfD turns on Greta Thunberg as it embraces climate denial,โ€ The Guardian, May 14, 2019. Archived May 16, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/GM8XL

November 23โ€“24, 2018

EIKE hosted its 12th International Conference on Climate and Energy (12. Internationale Klima- und Energiekonferenz), also billed as the Heartland Institute’s 13th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC13).ย The Heartland Institute‘s sponsorship of the event was alsoย noted in a press release by Heartland’s director of communications Jim Lakelyย and amplified by the State Policy Network. Video coverage of the event (see day 1) was streamed via EIKE’s YouTube channel.28โ€œProgram – 12th International Climate and Energy Conferenceโ€ EIKE. Translated via Google Translate. Archived November 23, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/NndcT 29โ€œHeartland Institute goes to Europe to correct the climate record at COP-24,โ€ State Policy Network, November 13, 2018. Archived November 23, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/vleWK

Speakers included:

November 2017

EIKE hosted its 11th International Conference on Climate and Energyย inย Dรผsseldorf, co-sponsored by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT). The conference took place shortly before the offical United Nations Climate Change Conferenceย (COP23) in Bonn, Germany.ย ย According to the conference program, notableย speakers included:30โ€œ11th International Conference on Climate and Energy,โ€ EIKE. Archived May 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/J7W2R 31โ€œ11th International Conference on Climate and Energyโ€ (PDF), EIKE.

The Interceptย mentionedย the conference in a 2018 article, noting itย was billed asย โ€œContra-COP23.โ€ย โ€œGiven that this is Europe, itโ€™s not a huge crowd,โ€ Kate Aronoff reported. Describing Richard Muller’s presentation, she wrote โ€œMรผllerโ€™s own scientific rationale may make no sense, but his conclusion is easy on the conscience: Relax, everything will be OK. Another version of that message is being marketed across COP23.โ€32โ€œDenialism b y a Different Name,โ€ The Intercept, April 17, 2018. Archived May 7, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/bqOwR

According to Aronoff, who spoke withย conference attendees and organizers, they were โ€œremarkably self-aware about their lack of influence.โ€ย  Muller, EIKEโ€œs general secretary, said that the first year they held the conference Greenpeace showed up to protest.ย โ€œNow they donโ€™t come, which is kind of disappointing because we would like the press attention,โ€ Muller said. He also noted that the media in Germany had largely ignored their point of view.ย ย โ€œThey act as if we donโ€™t exist,โ€ he said.33โ€œDenialism b y a Different Name,โ€ The Intercept, April 17, 2018. Archived May 7, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.li/bqOwR

February 3, 2015

EIKEsย Jรผrgen Langeheine released a study suggesting that global temperatures are dropping which โ€œdo not match with the carbon dioxide hypothesis.โ€34Jรผrgen Langeheine. โ€œHeat balance of the earth and global temperature change,โ€ EIKE, February 3, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Xtv04

His study was mentioned in an article by theย Daily Caller by Michael Bastasch titled โ€œStudy Predicts Decades Of Global Cooling Ahead.โ€35Michael Bastasch. โ€œStudy Predicts Decades Of Global Cooling Ahead,โ€ย The Daily Caller. Archived October 30, 2015. ย May 28, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/esPgw

โ€œThe stagnation of temperature since 1998 was caused by decreasing solar activity since 1998,โ€ wrote Jรผrgen Langeheine.

Bastasch wrote another piece in the Daily Caller where he claimsย that Langeheine’s research proved that temperatures are falling globally due to a decline in solar activity.36Michael Bastasch. โ€œPaper: Global Warming? More Like Global Cooling,โ€ย The Daily Caller, March 3, 2015. Archived October 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jF8jZ

PRWatch has noted that theย Daily Caller’sย Michael Bastasch may have connections to ALEC as well as Koch, saying โ€œBastasch is one of hundreds of interns who have been funded by Charles’s newest enterprise to help turn their ideological affinity with Koch ‘into careers’.โ€37Lisa Graves. โ€œTrained on Koch: Daily Caller Claims Fake Rebuttal of CMD on ALEC Role Promoting ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws,โ€ย PR Watch, June 18, 2012. Archived October 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LoMKJ

November 30โ€“December 1, 2012

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) partnered with the Heartland Institute to host a combination event of the Heartland Institute’s Eight International Conference on Climate Change, and EIKE’s the Fifth International Conference on Climate and Energy.38โ€œHeartland Institute Hosts Eighth International Conference on Climate Change in Germany,โ€ The Heartland Institute, November 15, 2012. Archived October 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EP5Cd

โ€œThis conference is more proof, if any were needed, that important issues surrounding the causes, extent, and consequences of climate change remain unresolved in the scientific community,โ€ said Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast.

Speakers at the event included:

May 21โ€“23, 2012

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute‘s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC7).39โ€œCosponsors,โ€ 7th International Conference on Climate Change. Archived May 10,ย 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VAY3r

November, 2011

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) Organized The Fourth International Climate & Energy Conference (IV Internationale Klima & Energiekonferenz) or 4th IKEK.

Speakers included noted climate change deniersย including Donna Lafromboise, Christopher C. Horner, Andrew Montfort, Nir Shaviv, Jan Veizer, Henrik Svensmark, and Piers Corbyn.40โ€œPart 1: IV International Climate & Energy Conference (4th IKEK) in Munich: Lecture Videos,โ€ EIKE. Archived October 30, 2015.ย Translated with Googleย Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/lsJg1 41โ€œPart 2: IV International Climate & Energy Conference (4th IKEK) in Munich: Lecture Videos,โ€ EIKE. Archived December 13, 2023.ย Translated with Googleย Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xYFpl

December 4, 2010

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE)ย organized the third โ€œInternational Climate & Energy Conference (Internationale Klima- und Energiekonferenz) in Berlin.42โ€œIII. INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE & ENERGY CONFERENCE in Berlin! Third – 4 December 2010, Berlin III. International climate and energy conference,โ€ EIKE, November 26, 2010.ย Translated with Google Translate. Archived October 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/baAXI

Event Partners included the Berlin Manhattan Institute and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT).

Speakers included:

December 4, 2009

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) collaborated with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), Haus der Zukunft (HdZ), the Liberale Institute of the Stiftung fรผr die Freiheit, and Bund Freiheit der Wissenschaft to host the โ€œInternational Climate Conference โ€“ Climate Change Reconsideredโ€ in Berlin.

According to the conference description:43โ€œClimate Change Reconsidered,โ€ Institute for Free Enterprise. Archived October 30, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/G3Tre

โ€œโ€ฆ our Berlin Conference shall point out the fact that the scientific debate is not over. Especially with new regulations on the cards, economic and scientific analysis is more important than ever.

The real science and economics of climate change support the view that global warming is not a crisis and that immediate action to reduce emissions is not necessary.โ€

Speakers included:

July 26, 2009

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) released aย petitionย to Germany’s Chancellor Angela Markel that claims there is no man-made cause of global warming. The petition was signed by about 400 people including engineers, meteorologists, geologists, chemists, forest officials, journalists, physicians, and businessmen.44โ€œClimate Change: An Open Letter to Chancellor Merkel – ‘refute temperature measurements from 1701 human-caused temperature fluctuations’,โ€ EIKE, July 26, 2009. Archived February 1, 2011.ย Translated with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ypShk

August 17, 2008

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE)ย organized a conference titled โ€œClimate change – Is the man really to blame and what should be done?โ€ (โ€œDer Klimawandel – Ist der Mensch wirklich schuld und was sollte getan werden?โ€).45โ€œClimate change – Is the man really to blame and what should be done?โ€ eike-klima-energie.eu. Archived December 26, 2008.ย Translated with Google Translate. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nGw52

May 30, 2007

The European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE), together with CFACT Europe, hosted the Berlin Climate Conference which took place at the German Free Market Institute. Keynote speakers included prominent climate change skeptic S. Fred Singer.46โ€œBerlin Climate Conference: May 30, 2007,โ€ CFACT Europe, May 6, 2007. Archived May 7,ย 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YIpOx

Location

According to SourceWatch, EIKE has no physical address, but only a P.O. Box in Jena. All members work from their home offices, according to EIKE. Many members are elderly and come from engineering professions.47โ€œEuropรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie,โ€ SourceWatch Profile. Archived October 30, 2015. 

SourceWatch reports that EIKE cooperates with the libertarian foundation Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fรผr die Freiheit and appears to have connections to members of the libertarian party FDP.48โ€œEuropรคisches Institut fรผr Klima und Energie,โ€ SourceWatch Profile. Archived October 30, 2015. 

The International Climate Science Coalition mentions EIKE on its website as the German group to contact about the Manhattan declaration.

EIKE cooperates with organizations fighting wind power, for example Arbeitsgemeinschaft fรผr eine windradfreie Heimat e. V. (Antiwindkraft) and Sturmlauf.

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Resources

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