Self-Proclaimed Climate ‘Leader’ To Host Annual Climate Denier Conference

For the second yr in a row, a self-declared “leader” within the battle towards international local weather change will host the Super Bowl of local weather change denial.

In February, the right-wing Heartland Institute is scheduled to convene its three-day “International Conference on Climate Change” on the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista resort, close to Walt Disney World Resort. The Illinois-based suppose tank is unwavering in its dismissal of established local weather science and has a protracted historical past of cheerleading for the fossil gasoline business and preventing environmental rules and renewable vitality tasks.

In true contrarian vogue, the theme of Heartland’s upcoming occasion is “The True Crisis: Climate Change or Climate Policy?” Like conferences earlier than it, it will likely be a who’s who of the local weather denial motion and advance the conspiracy that governments across the globe are utilizing local weather breakdown in a concerted effort to regulate individuals’s lives.

“From the green energy boondoggles in the so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ in the United States, to the ongoing wind-power disaster in Germany, and threats of energy cuts in the winter in the UK, the climate policy ‘solutions’ are a real and growing problem for the people of the world,” reads an outline of the upcoming occasion. “Why are we making life poorer and more miserable for most of the people on the planet when there is no climate crisis?”

As common, Heartland has tapped go-to leaders of the denial motion to be keynote audio system, together with William Happer, the retired Princeton University physics professor who served as an adviser to President Donald Trump and has declared Earth is within the midst of a “CO2 famine”; Myron Ebell, director of the right-wing Competitive Enterprise Institute who led the Trump EPA transition staff and was a key figure in Trump’s determination to withdraw the U.S. from the historic Paris local weather settlement; and Steve Milloy, a former tobacco and coal lobbyist who additionally served on the Trump EPA transition staff.

The occasion is wildly out of step with Hilton’s said local weather and environmental pledges.

On its company web site, Hilton notes that the corporate is “committed to leading the hospitality industry toward a net-zero economy and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions in line with climate science” and “proud to have been the first major hotel company to set science-based carbon targets aligned with climate science and the Paris Climate Agreement.”

“Through climate action and destination stewardship, we intend to pave the way to a net-zero future for our company and the global travel and tourism industry,” it reads.

Asked about Heartland’s upcoming convention, a Hilton spokesperson advised HuffPost that “Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista is taken into account a spot of public lodging and doesn’t undertake or endorse the views of any people or teams we serve.”

“Our goal is to provide a high quality product and service per the contractual agreements in place with our clients,” the spokesperson added.

Hilton didn’t reply to HuffPost’s particular questions on Heartland’s historical past of denying and downplaying local weather science.

One of Heartland’s many opposition campaigns targets environmental, social and governance (ESG), a framework used to measure the sustainability of an organization or funding. The suppose tank is pushing anti-ESG laws on the state stage and encourages lawmakers who’re “looking to fight back against ESG scores” to succeed in out.

Hilton Hotels has branded its personal ESG technique “Travel With Purpose.” And in a message accompanying the resort large’s ESG report final yr, Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta wrote that the corporate is “defining the next golden age of travel, anchored in sustainability and inclusivity.”

“There has never been a more important time to double down on our commitments and raise the bar on our environmental and social goals,” he wrote. “In the coming year, as climate science and best practices continue to evolve, we will set more ambitious environmental targets that will help preserve the destinations where we live, work and travel, and pave the way to a net-zero future.”

It’s a net-zero future that its upcoming visitor, Heartland, is actively fighting against.

The settlement between Heartland and Hilton is harking back to final yr, when on line casino large Caesars Entertainment hosted the three-day local weather denial convention at its iconic Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Like Hilton, Caesars’ website options a complete web page on environmental stewardship and local weather, touting the corporate’s“climate leadership” and “commitment to science-based goals.”

In 2019, when Heartland held its convention on the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., it refused to provide HuffPost and different main information shops entry to cowl the occasion.

“HuffPost won’t be getting any credentials for this conference,” Heartland’s Jim Lakely wrote to HuffPost on the time. “You can watch the live-stream if you want to cover it.”