Ross McKitrick

Ross McKitrick

Profile image Ross McKitrick speaking at the Heartland Institute’s 12th International Conference on Climate Change, screenshot via YouTube.

Credentials 

  • Ph.D., Economics, University of British Columbia, (1996).1“Curriculum Vitae” (PDF), Rossmcitrick.com, April 10, 2013. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.
  • M.A., Economics, University of British Columbia, (1990).2“Curriculum Vitae” (PDF), Rossmcitrick.com, April 10, 2013. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.
  • B.A. (Hons) , Economics, Queen’s University, (1988).3“Curriculum Vitae” (PDF), Rossmcitrick.com, April 10, 2013. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Background

Ross McKitrick is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Guelph. McKitrick is also a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Vancouver, British Columbia.4Ross McKitrick: Professor of Economics,” University of Guelph. Archived October 8, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/TStcT

According to Ross McKitrick’s profile at the Fraser Institute, he holds a BA in economics from Queen’s University, and an MA and Ph.D. in economics from the University of British Columbia. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Guelph in 1996 and Associate Professor in 2000. McKitrick’s areas of specialization include environmental economics and policy analysis. His current research areas include “empirical modeling of the relationship between economic growth and pollution emissions; the impact of economic activity on the measurement of surface temperatures; and the climate change policy debate.”5Topic Experts,” The Fraser Institute. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Zn3dq

McKitrick co-authored the 2002 book Taken By Storm (website now defunct) with fellow climate skeptic Christopher Essex. According to the book’s description, the “assumption that we know what is happening and how to control it” regarding climate change is false. The revised version was released in 2008.6TAKEN BY STORM: The Troubled Science, Policy and Politics of Global Warming,” takenbystorm.info. Archived March 18, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QhvPJ

Stance on Climate Change

Ross McKitrick is an endorser of the Cornwall Alliance‘s “An Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming,” which states:7Prominent Signers of An Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming,” The Cornwall Alliance. Last updated January 14, 2010. Archived June 12, 2011. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/YLhIU

“We deny that carbon dioxide—essential to all plant growth—is a pollutant. Reducing greenhouse gases cannot achieve significant reductions in future global temperatures, and the costs of the policies would far exceed the benefits.”8An Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming,” The Cornwall Alliance. Archived February 13, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/2v2fv

Key Quotes

June 16, 2016

“Calculations behind the social cost of carbon need to reflect empirical evidence about low climate sensitivity, and when this is done, the numbers appear to be much lower than those currently in use.”9Junk Science Week: What’s the right price for carbon? Take a guess (everyone else is),Financial Post, June 16, 2016. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Y2v2p

May 11, 2015

“The phony claim of 97 per cent consensus is mere political rhetoric aimed at stifling debate and intimidating people into silence.”10Ross McKitrick. “The con in consensus: Climate change consensus among the misinformed is not worth much,” Financial Post, May 11, 2015. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/TCmNe

April 1, 2012

“I abhor Earth Hour. Abundant, cheap electricity has been the greatest source of human liberation in the 20th century. Every material social advance in the 20th century depended on the proliferation of inexpensive and reliable electricity.”11Ross Mckitrick. “Earth Hour: A Dissent,” Mises.ca, April 1, 2012. Archived October 8, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Z75Jc

February 26, 2012

“The bottom line for Canada is that Kyoto will precipitate a recession that will cause a permanent reduction in employment, income and the size of our economy. And if global warming is going to happen Kyoto will do nothing whatsoever to prevent it or even slow it down. Why are we still considering it?”12Kyoto’s Real Cost” (PDF), National Post, February 26, 2002. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Key Actions

February 25, 2022

McKitrick wrote an article in the Financial Post titled “Don’t be afraid to debate climate science.”13Ross McKitrick: Don’t be afraid to debate climate science,” Financial Post, February 25, 2022. Archived April 19, 2022.

“[T]here’s no way for any country to achieve net-zero without experiencing ruinous economic hardship,” McKitrick wrote. “These days it seems the only way to get elected is to commit to this goal and lie about your plan to get there.”

He added: “For large-C Conservatives who want a clever electoral strategy, an additional problem is that much of the base isn’t interested in playing this game. They believe, rightly, that climate change is not an existential crisis and that most public discussion of it is exaggerated fearmongering. And they have most mainstream science and economics on their side.”

He concluded, “Conservatives who want to lead on the climate issue must start by debating the extremists who currently dominate the discussion.”

August 10, 2021

Ross McKitrick published a study that the Epoch Times claimed “weakened the IPCC’s case that greenhouse gases cause climate change.”14McKitrick, R. “Checking for model consistency in optimal fingerprinting: a comment.” Clim Dyn (2021). 15Nathan Worcester. “Statistical Method Used to Link Climate Change to Greenhouse Gases Challenged,” The Epoch Times, September 6, 2021. Archived September 15, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.md/sLXAV

He also discussed the study on Judith Curry‘s Blog, Climate Etc. McKitrick described his study as a critique of  “Checking for model consistency in optimal fingerprinting” by Myles Allen and Simon Tett, which was published in Climate Dynamics in 1999.16Ross McKitrick. “The IPCC’s attribution methodology is fundamentally flawed,” Climate Etc. August 18, 2021. Archived September 15, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.md/hi4wG

Economist and Global Warming Policy Foundation advisor Richard Tol backed McKitrick: 17Nathan Worcester. “Statistical Method Used to Link Climate Change to Greenhouse Gases Challenged,” The Epoch Times, September 6, 2021. Archived September 15, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.md/sLXAV

“McKitrick is right,” Tol said, claiming the previous paper by Allen and Tett had “made things worse, not better.”

“The implications are unclear. Many of the papers that use the fingerprinting method to detect the impact of climate change are simply wrong,” Tol claimed.

March 18, 2021

PressProgress reported that a Fraser Institute report by Ross McKitrick and Almira Aliakbari titled “Estimated Impacts of a $170 Carbon Tax in Canada” was uncritically cited by a major newspaper chain in British Columbia.18Local BC Newspapers are Promoting Junk Research From the Fraser Institute’s Anti-Climate Science Expert,” PressProgress, March 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mmZdT 19“ESTIMATED IMPACTS OF A $170 CARBON TAX IN CANADA” (PDF), Fraser Institute, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The report claimed a federal carbon tax of $170 per tonne by 2030 would “cause a 1.8% drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which works out to about $1,540 in current dollars per employed person, and the loss of about 184,000 jobs nationwide.”20“ESTIMATED IMPACTS OF A $170 CARBON TAX IN CANADA” (PDF), Fraser Institute, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

PressProgress noted the report was repeated by Victoria News columnist Tom Fletcher, who cited the report to suggest the tax will cost “more than 20,000 jobs” in BC.21Local BC Newspapers are Promoting Junk Research From the Fraser Institute’s Anti-Climate Science Expert,” PressProgress, March 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mmZdT

April 7, 2020

As reported at PressProgress, the Fraser Institute was among Koch-funded groups who have used the COVID pandemic as reason to promote the use of plastic bags over reusable bags. In an email with the title “Suddenly, plastic is looking pretty good again,” the Fraser Institute linked to a study by Ross McKitrick.22Fraser Institute Uses Coronavirus Pandemic to Push Dubious Claims About the Health Benefits of Plastic Bags,” PressProgress, April 8, 2020. Archived April 9, 2020. Archive URL:https://archive.vn/4uD1d

The email reads:

“It is easy to forget that much of our reliance on plastic packaging was motivated by the need for public hygiene. 

“The coronavirus reminds us that public hygiene remains an important priority. Just weeks after banning plastic bags, New York Temporarily suspended implementation of the law, while urging people to remember to wash their reusable cloth bags.

“The Fraser Institute’s Ross McKitrick has a great article about this in today’s Financial Post. Check it out below or read it here and please be sure to share it with your friends and colleagues!”23Fraser Institute Uses Coronavirus Pandemic to Push Dubious Claims About the Health Benefits of Plastic Bags,” PressProgress, April 8, 2020. Archived April 9, 2020. Archive URL:https://archive.vn/4uD1d

McKitrick’s full article appeared in the Financial Post on April 7.24Ross McKitrick: “Suddenly, plastic is looking pretty good again,” Financial Post, April 7, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/UmKYD

“Would you want to buy a toothbrush from a bin that a hundred people rummaged through? As for disposable plastic water bottles, this is surely one of the great public health inventions of the modern age. They are remarkably cheap and they save us the ordeal of shared public water fountains,” McKitrick wrote.

“Whether or not a ban on plastic bags has big implications for public health, the better question to ask is whether it (or similar bans on single-use plastics) will do any good for the world’s oceans,” McKitrick added. “The answer is no. Canada’s single-use plastics are not the source of ocean contamination. Banning them will impose costs and inconvenience here while doing nothing to fix the problem.”“

“[F]or those who have lamented our use of plastic packaging over the years, it’s understandable, especially since the marketers sometimes make excessive use of the stuff. But the coronavirus shows that public hygiene was, and remains, an important priority, and we downplay it at our peril,” he concluded.

PressProgress notes that “the Fraser Institute’s claims about the health benefits of plastic bags miss their mark in significant ways” including that “there have been no specific scientific studies looking into whether bags made of any material, cloth or plastic, are actually spreading COVID-19.”25Fraser Institute Uses Coronavirus Pandemic to Push Dubious Claims About the Health Benefits of Plastic Bags,” PressProgress, April 8, 2020. Archived April 9, 2020. Archive URL:https://archive.vn/4uD1d

“In fact, a recent study found COVID-19 lives significantly longer on plastic surfaces than it does on paper or cloth, a point that would appear to contradict the premise of the Fraser Institute’s argument.”26Fraser Institute Uses Coronavirus Pandemic to Push Dubious Claims About the Health Benefits of Plastic Bags,” PressProgress, April 8, 2020. Archived April 9, 2020. Archive URL:https://archive.vn/4uD1d

Looking at groups in the USMother Jones has suggested “the timing of these messages suggests a concerted public relations campaign by the plastic industry,” highlighting groups like the Manhattan Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Independent Women’s Forum.27Rebecca Leber. “How Big Plastic Is Using Coronavirus to Bring Back Wasteful Bags,” Mother Jones, March 27, 2020. Archived April 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/ROsCa

February 5, 2020

McKitrick wrote an article at Troy Media, where he claimed we must “fight climate extremists before they upend society.” In the article, McKitrick divided groups on the climate issue into the “A” group of “doubters. They don’t believe greenhouse gases (GHGs) do much harm and they don’t support expensive climate-policy interventions” the “B” group  who “ believe, or say they believe, that GHG emissions are a problem and must be reduced” but are “vague on the question of how much and when,” and group “C” who “fear a climate catastrophe, they foresee a crisis and they want urgent action, regardless of cost, to stop it.”28Ross McKitrick. “Fight climate extremists before they upend society,” TroyMedia.com, February 5, 2020. Archived February 14, 2020. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/wip/oa4dR

According to McKitrick, in the the United States, “the Bs long ago recognized the true aspirations of the Cs and aligned themselves with the A crowd. They realized in the process that it’s a surprisingly large and energetic constituency, thus creating a coalition capable of keeping the U.S. energy sector alive and the economy growing.”

He adds that those in the B group “must win this fight” against those who think climate change is the most pressing problem.

“At stake are the livelihoods of millions of ordinary people whose jobs and living standards will be destroyed if C prevails, not to mention the hopes of billions of people who want to rise out of poverty.”

In conclusion, McKitrick added:

“Climate and energy policy has fallen into the hands of a worldwide movement that openly declares its extremism. The would-be moderates on this issue have pretended for 20 years they could keep the status quo without having to fight for it. Those days are over.”

September 17, 2019

McKitrick appeared on the Heartland Daily Podcast hosted by Anthony Watts.29Finding Fault in the Hockey Stick (Guest: Dr. Ross McKitrick),” The Heartland Daily Podcast, September 17, 2019. Retrieved from SoundCloud. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

McKitrick dismissed the social cost of carbon, repeating a talking point that increasing atmospheric CO2 would provide a net benefit to agriculture: 

The social cost of carbon isn’t even necessarily a positive number when you use empirically estimated climate sensitivity numbers and you allow for, what we know to be the case, which is CO2 fertilization and productivity gains in agriculture.”30Finding Fault in the Hockey Stick (Guest: Dr. Ross McKitrick),” The Heartland Daily Podcast, September 17, 2019. Retrieved from SoundCloud. Archived .mp3 on file at DeSmog.

While McKitrick conceded fossil fuel consumption increases CO2 in the atmosphere and concurrently raises overall temperatures, he concludes this is a good thing and we will adapt:

We do put a lot of CO2 into the air. Using fossil fuels has led to a large amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere over a fairly short period of time. And I think in a sense we’ve dodged a bullet, because it turns out, from the evidence that I’ve seen and I think the evidence out there, that the effect of this extra CO2 is very much on the low end of the scale from what it could have been. […]

Even if the upper end of the global warming projections turned out to be valid, we still might, on economic grounds, just say it’s still too good a deal to pass up.

We’re going to live with the consequences and we’re going to keep using fossil fuels. But it’s even better than that. I think the best evidence says, no, we’ll probably get a bit of warming from CO2 but it’s going to be on the low end and it’s a mix of good and bad changes to the climate, and it’s also just stuff that we can adapt to over time.”

August 13, 2019

McKitrick appeared in a Nature Communications article that ranked 386 “climate change contrarians” based on media visibility. The article also ranked bona fide climate scientists and found that deniers had nearly 50% more visibility in the media than mainstream scientists.31Alexander Michael Petersen, Emmanuel M. Vincent, Anthony LeRoy Westerling. “Discrepancy in scientific authority and media visibility of climate change scientists and contrarians,” Nature Communications, August 13, 2019. Archived August 14, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/WC84u. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

McKitrick was ranked #41 among other noted deniers, including Marc Morano (#1), Sen. James Inhofe, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Steven Hayward, Judith Curry, Freeman Dyson, John Hinderaker, and Roy Spencer.32Alexander Michael Petersen, Emmanuel M. Vincent, Anthony LeRoy Westerling. “Discrepancy in scientific authority and media visibility of climate change scientists and contrarians,” Nature Communications, August 13, 2019. Archived August 14, 2019. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/WC84u. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

November 9, 2017

McKitrick was a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s “America First Energy Conference” at the Marriott Hotel in Houston, Texas.33ROSS MCKITRICK,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 21, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/4Ye30

The event description read as follows:34About,” America First Energy. Archived October 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8bTTJ

At the America First Energy Conference, we plan to examine—one year and one day after Trump’s shocking Election Day victory—the following:

Where does Trump’s America First Energy Plan stand?

How much progress has been made in implementing it, and what remains to be done?

What scientific and economic evidence is there that the plan is putting the nation on the right path for economic growth, environmental protection, or both?”35About,” America First Energy. Archived October 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8bTTJ

In a fundraising letter obtained by DeSmog, Fred Palmer had promoted the event as having the goal to “review the scientific and economic evidence that exposes the fraud inherent in the Obama-era regulation regime” while discussing “the overwhelming benefits of fossil fuels to us all.”36October 2017 Fundraising letter by Fred Palmer. On file at DeSmog.

Many of the other speakers have regularly spoken at the Heartland Institute’s past ICCCs. Notable speakers listed so far Joe Bast, Fred PalmerRoger BezdekH. Sterling BurnettHal Doiron, Paul DriessenJohn Dale DunnMyron Ebell, Heartland’s new President Tim HuelskampCraig IdsoDavid LegatesJay LehrAnthony LupoRoss McKitrickSteve MilloyTodd MyersJohn Nothdurt, David Schnare, and numerous others.37SPEAKERS,” America First Energy. Archived October 10, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/OJWeX

March 23, 2017

McKitrick was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s 12th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC12), appearing on a panel on “Cost-Benefit Analysis.”38ROSS MCKITRICK,” Climateconference.heartland.org. Archived April 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4pMNT

Panel 2B: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Panel 2B Q&A

February 7, 2017

Ross McKitrick was a speaker at the Fourth Santa Fe Conference on Global & Regional Climate Change. According to the conference program (PDF), McKitrick’s speech was titled “Empirically-Constrained Climate Sensitivity and the Social Cost of Carbon.”39“Fourth Santa Fe Conference on Global & Regional Climate Change: Confirmed Speakers,” Cvent.com. Archived February 16, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/OpWNT 40“Program: Fourth Santa Fe Conference on Global and Regional Climate Change” (PDF), February 3, 2017. Retrieved from Cvent.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The Fourth Santa Fe Conference was sponsored by the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Center for Earth and Space Science and co-sponsored by American Meteorological Society.41Fourth Santa Fe Conference on Global & Regional Climate Change,” Cvent.com. Archived February 16, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cxZpk

It was the fourth in a series of conferences with the stated purpose of bringing together researchers “with varied interpretations of current and past global and regional climate change, to present the latest research results (observations, modeling and analysis), and to provide speaking and listening opportunities to top climate experts and students.” The first conference took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2001. Both the second and the third were in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2006 and 2011 respectively.42Fourth Santa Fe Conference on Global & Regional Climate Change,” Cvent.com. Archived February 16, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cxZpk

View a complete copy of McKitrick’s abstract here.43Ross McKitrick. “Empirically-Constrained Climate Sensitivity and the Social Cost of Carbon” (.docx), November 8, 2016. Retrieved from Cvent.com. Archived .docx on file at DeSmog.

September 27, 2016

Ross McKitrick presented to a Committee of the Canadian Senate (PDF) where he advocated the development of oil pipeline development in Canada. He claimed that “activists […] exploit the natural monopoly of pipelines to impose an environmental agenda that failed to obtain support through the environmental policymaking process.”44“Presentation to the Transport and Communications Committee of the Senate of Canada” (PDF), Rossmckitrick.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“[B]lockading pipeline resource development is neither a smart nor sustainable approach to pursuing environmental goals,” McKitrick said. “Completion of an interprovincial pipeline would be a boost for national unity and economic development, and it would be entirely consistent with the smart, technology-driven approach to environmental management that we have successfully pursued for many decades.”45“Presentation to the Transport and Communications Committee of the Senate of Canada” (PDF), Rossmckitrick.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

July 2016

Herb Pinder published an article in the Regina Post Leader citing Ross McKitrick as having “discredited conceptually, mathematically” the models of climate scientist Michael Mann. Pinder quotes McKitrick as saying “there has been no statistically significant temperature change for the past 15-20 years.”46Herb Pinder. “Climate change alarmists ignore nature’s role,” Regina Post Leader, July 16, 2016. Archived October 13, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/E5VwK

Michael Mann posted a response in the same paper, noting that Herb Pinder is associated with the free market advocacy group the Fraser Institute, and saying Pinder “did a disservice to your readers by promoting falsehoods about climate change and making untruthful statements about my own scientific work.”47Michael E. Mann. “Michael E. Mann says this is no time for a fake debate on climate change,” Regina Leader-Post, July 19, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Fw8oJ

Mann writes: 

“In attempting to malign my own work, Pinder cites fellow Fraser Institute climate change denier Ross McKitrick, someone with no scientific credentials whose specious claims have been rejected by actual scientists.

[…] McKitrick’s attacks have nothing at all to do with climate models. Instead they concern the well-known “hockey stick” temperature curve I published in the late 1990s that demonstrates recent warming to be unprecedented in at least 1,000 years.”

In a third article, also in Regina Leader-Post, Ross McKitrick responded:48Ross Mckitrick. “Let’s have a cool, civil debate about global climate change,” Regina Leader-Post, July 25, 2016. Archived October 13, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/spJ7H

“Mann said of me that I have ‘no scientific credentials’ and that my work is ‘specious’ and has been ‘rejected by actual scientists.’ I have published dozens of studies in the field, including in many leading climate science journals.”

May 18, 2016

Ross McKitrick was a signatory to a full page color advertisement in The New York Times titled “Abuse of Power” (PDF) sponsored by The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).  The ad serves as an open letter from 43 signatories including organizations and individuals in response to  New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker, and the coalition of Attorneys General investigating groups denying man-made climate change.49CEI Runs ‘Abuse of Power’ Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/DF7gW 50“Abuse of Power: All Americans have the right to support causes they believe in” (PDF), Competitive Enterprise Institute. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Attempts to intimidate CEI and our allies and silence our policy research are unconstitutional,” said CEI president Kent Lassman. “The First Amendment protects us and everyone has a duty to respect it – even state attorneys general.  CEI will continue to fight for all Americans to support the causes in which they believe.”51CEI Runs ‘Abuse of Power’ Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/DF7gW

The Competitive Enterprise Institute received a subpoena from AG Walker on April 7, 2016. On April 20, CEI filed an objection to the subpoena calling it “offensive,” “un-American,” and “unlawful,” and are contending that AG Walker is “violating CEI’s First Amendment rights.”52CEI Runs ‘Abuse of Power’ Ad In New York Times,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, May 18, 2016. Archived May 31, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/DF7gW

The “freedom of speech” argument was echoed by ExxonMobil’s legal team, as well as numerous other conservative groups including the Pacific Legal Foundation, and Heritage Foundation and the recently-formed Free Speech in Science Project, a group created by the same lawyers who defended the Competitive Enterprise Institute in the past.53Steve Horn. “Exxon’s Lawyer in Climate Science Probe Has History Helping Big Tobacco and NFL Defend Against Health Claims,” DeSmog, May 10, 2016.

The CEI letter lists the following signatories:

May 13, 2016

Ross McKitrick participated in a debate at the University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus) for high school students on the topic of climate change. The resolution was: “Should we be skeptical about the science suggesting that GHG emissions are the primary cause of global climate change?”54Climate Change” (YouTube Video) uploaded by user UTSC IITS, June 2, 2016. Archived .MP4 on file at DeSmog.

McKitrick argued for the “Yes” position against his opponent, Dr. Tanzina Mohsin, a climate scientist at the University of Toronto. Video below.55Climate Change” (YouTube Video) uploaded by user UTSC IITS, June 2, 2016. Archived .MP4 on file at DeSmog.

March 29, 2016

Ross McKitrick was a featured speaker at a conference titled “The Climate Surprise: Why CO2 Is Good for the Earth” hosted by the CO2 Coalition and The New Criterion in New York City.56The Climate Surprise: Why CO2 is Good for the Earth,” CO2 Coalition, April 25, 2016. Archived June 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/BWkqz

According to the event description, “Members of the CO2 Coalition and  many other experts argue that carbon dioxide enrichment of the atmosphere provides manifold benefits for humanity. And observed surface warmings are much smaller than predicted by climate models. Economic models that fail to include the benefits  of CO2 and the serious exaggerations of climate models  and are being used to advocate “cures” that are much worse than the non-existent disease.”57The Climate Surprise: Why CO2 is Good for the Earth,” CO2 Coalition, April 25, 2016. Archived June 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/BWkqz

Other videos of the conference are available at The New Criterion‘s YouTube page. Featured speakers listed at the event included the following:58The Climate Surprise: Why CO2 is Good for the Earth,” CO2 Coalition, April 25, 2016. Archived June 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/BWkqz

May 11, 2015

Ross McKitrick publishes a comment piece in the Financial Post titled, “The con in consensus: Climate change consensus among the misinformed is not worth much.” Within the piece, McKitrick writes that “massive activist pressure is on all governments, especially Canada’s, to fall in line with the global warming agenda and accept emission targets that could seriously harm [Canada’s] economy.”59Ross McKitrick, “The con in consensus: Climate change consensus among the misinformed is not worth much,” Financial Post, May 11, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJ13w

McKitrick continues by calling the 97% consensus, that “climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities,” among peer-reviewed climate science literature “a fabrication,” and that it would be a “tragedy” to “throw Canada’s economy under the climate change bandwagon.”60Consensus: 97% of climate scientists agree,” NASA, Updated May 18, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/r9mER 61Ross McKitrick, “The con in consensus: Climate change consensus among the misinformed is not worth much,” Financial Post, May 11, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJ13w

March 1, 2015

McKitrick was listed as a writer/endorser of a Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPFbriefing paper titled “The Small Print: What the Royal Society Left Out“ that accused the Royal Society of “presenting a misleading picture of climate science.”62“THE SMALL PRINT: What the Royal Society Left Out” (PDF)Global Warming Policy Foundation, 2015. 63(Press Release). “Royal Society Misrepresents Climate Science,” Global Warming Policy Foundation, January 3, 2015. Archived August 17, 2014. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/BvDj3

As an example, the Royal Society addresses the question of why Antarctic sea ice is growing,” said Prof Ross McKitrick, the chairman of the GWPF’s Academic Advisory Council, “but in doing so they present a recently proposed hypothesis as if it were settled science. Failing to admit when the answer to an important question is simply not known does a disservice to the public. We believe that this new paper does a much better job of presenting the whole picture to the public.”64“THE SMALL PRINT: What the Royal Society Left Out” (PDF)Global Warming Policy Foundation, 2015.

The paper was written/endorsed by the following “experts”:65“THE SMALL PRINT: What the Royal Society Left Out” (PDF)Global Warming Policy Foundation, 2015.

December 2014

Ross McKitrick is a contributor to the book Climate Change: The Facts published by the Institute of Public Affairs and featuring “22 essays on the science, politics and economics of the climate change debate.” The Institute of Public Affairs, while not revealing most of its funders, is known to have received funding from mining magnate Gina Rinehart and at least one major tobacco company.66Institute of Public Affairs,” SourceWatch. Accessed May 27, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/RtEoe

The book includes essays and articles from a range of climate change skeptics, with contributors including the following:

According to Editor Alan Moran in a post at Catallaxy Files blog on Climate Change: the facts 2014, Ross Mckitrick “addresses the trials he and Steve McIntyre went through in puncturing the newly coined late twentieth century myth that temperatures are now higher than at any time in the past millen­nium.”67Alan Moran. “Climate Change: the facts 2014,” Catallaxy Files (blog), December 16, 2014. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tCUVU

October 30, 2014

Ross McKitrick was the co-author of a Fraser Institute report titled “What Goes Up,” which recommends that the government look at a moratorium and new wind and solar power facilities as well as re-open four coal burning powerplants to curb increases in electricity prices. See the whole report here (PDF).68Ross McKitrick and Tom Adams. “What Goes Up…Ontario’s Soaring Electricity Prices and How to Get Them Down” (PDF), Fraser Institute, October 2014. Archived at DeSmog.

The Toronto Sun reports how the provincial government did not heed the Fraser Institute’s report and continues to pursue wind and solar energy projects.69Antonella Artuso. “Energy minister won’t heed Fraser Institute report,” Toronto Sun, October 30, 2014. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tb1Fy

May 2010

Ross McKitrick spoke at the Heartland Institute‘s Fourth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC4). His speech was titled “Models versus Observations: An Updated Comparison”:70Ross McKitrick, ICCC4,” International Conferences on Climate Change. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nrhEx

March 9, 2009

Ross McKitrick spoke at the Heartland Institute’s 2009 International Conference on Climate Change:712009 International Conference on Climate Change,” The Heartland Institute, February 1, 2009. Archived October 12, 216. Republished by Instituto Liberdade. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/AVBHL

DeSmogBlog researched the funding, and found sponsor organizations had received over $47 million from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from the Scaife Family of foundations.72Heartland Institute’s 2009 Climate Conference in New York: funding history of the sponsors,” DeSmog.

March 3, 2008

Ross McKitrick spoke at the Heartland Institute’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC1) on the topic “Quantifying the Influence of Anthropogenic Surface Processes on Gridded Global Climate Data”:73Ross McKitrick, ICCC1,” International Conferences on Climate Change. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Wj5mv

February 2007

McKitrick was the “coordinator” for the Fraser Institute‘s “Independent Summary for Policymakers” (ISPM) of the IPCC‘s Fourth Assessment Report.74“Independent Summary for Policymakers: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report” (PDF), The Fraser Institute, March 2, 2007. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The ISPM‘s conclusion is that “there will remain an unavoidable element of uncertainty as to the extent that humans are contributing to future climate change, and indeed whether or not such change is a good or bad thing.”75“Independent Summary for Policymakers: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report” (PDF), The Fraser Institute, March 2, 2007. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Other authors included well known global warming skeptics such as Joseph D’aleo, Madhav Khandekar, William Kininmonth, Christopher Essex, Wibjorn Karlen, and Tad Murty.76“Independent Summary for Policymakers: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report” (PDF), The Fraser Institute, March 2, 2007. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

2006

McKitrick was a co-author to a paper published by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance (Now the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation) titled “A Call to Truth, Prudence and the Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming.”  Authors of paper included prominent deniers Calvin Beisner, Paul K. Driessen and Roy W. Spencer.77E. Calvin Beisner, Paul K. Driessen, Ross McKitrick, and Roy W. Spencer. “A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming” (PDF), The Cornwall Alliance, 2006. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

The Cornwall Alliance’s paper was a response to an open letter titled “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action” which was created by a group titled the Evangelical Climate Initiative.

“An Evangelical Call to Action” concludes that:78E. Calvin Beisner, Paul K. Driessen, Ross McKitrick, and Roy W. Spencer. “A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming” (PDF), The Cornwall Alliance, 2006. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

  1. Climate Change is Real.
  2. The Consequences of Climate Change Will Be Significant, and Will Hit the Poor the Hardest.
  3. Christian Moral Convictions Demand Our Response to the Climate Change Problem.
  4. The need to act now is urgent. Governments, businesses, churches, and individuals all have a role to play in addressing climate change—starting now.

The Cornwall Alliance’s paper contends that “All of these assumptions…are false, probably false, or exaggerated.”

January 27, 2005

Ross McKitrick and Steve McIntyre state their “research shows fundamental flaws in the ‘hockey stick graph’ used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” in a “backgrounder” produced to summarize their recently published articles:79Ross McKitrick and Steve McIntyre. “Backgrounder” (PDF), Hockey Stick Project, January 27, 2005. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

“The main error affects a step called principal component analysis (PCA). We showed that the PCA method as used by Mann et al. effectively mines a data set for hockey stick patterns. Even from meaningless random data (red noise), it nearly always produces a hockey stick.”80Ross McKitrick and Steve McIntyre. “Backgrounder” (PDF), Hockey Stick Project, January 27, 2005. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

2005

McKitrick appeared on a Friends of Science (FoS) video titled Climate Catastrophe Cancelled. Other prominent climate change skeptics are featured including Tim Ball, Sallie L. Baliunas and Tim Patterson.

The FoS website includes a description of Climate Catastrophe Cancelled:81Climate Catastrophe Cancelled: What You’re Not Being Told About the Science of Climate Change” (2nd Edition.  Sept. 13, 2007.), Friends of Science. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/o1nCM

“Contrary to claims that the science of climate change has been settled, the causes of the past century’s modest warming is highly contested in the climate science community. The climate experts presenting in the video demonstrate that science is quickly diverging away from the hypothesis that the human release of greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, is having a significant impact on global climate. ‘There is absolutely no convincing scientific evidence that human-produced greenhouse gases are driving global climate change,’ stated climatologist, Dr. Tim Ball. He added that the Canadian government’s plan to designate carbon dioxide as a ‘toxic’ [sic] under CEPA is irresponsible and without scientific merit. ‘Carbon dioxide is a staff of life, plain and simple. It makes up less than 4% of greenhouse gases and it is not a toxic.'[sic]”

According to SourceWatch, the recovered costs by FoS from the University of Calgary for “video production” in 2005 amounted to $80,731.82Friends of Science,” SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/gZiQy

2003

McKitrick and Christopher Essex organized a press conference with the Cooler Heads Coalition in 2003 to publicize his and Essex’s new book, Taken By Storm.83Cooler Heads Coalition Briefing With Christopher Essex And Ross McKitrick,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, February 26, 2003. Archived September 9, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dfnqN

Copies of the book were provided “compliments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.”84Cooler Heads Coalition Briefing With Christopher Essex And Ross McKitrick,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, February 26, 2003. Archived September 9, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dfnqN

2002

Ross McKitrick and Christopher Essex publish Taken By Storm: The Troubled Science, Policy and Politics of Global Warming. The book won the 2002 Donner Book Prize, a $10K award “paid for in part by the Donner Canadian Foundation, which contributed $20K toward writing the book in 2002.”85Ross McKitrick,” SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/szooz

October 2000

McKitrick attended a October 2000 briefing organized by the Cooler Heads Coalition where he joined other sceptics in criticizing the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).86Ross McKitrick,” SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/szooz

The Cooler Heads coalition is a project of the National Consumers Coalition which is made up of 23 free market think tanks, many of them with ties to the oil-industry, including the Heartland Institute, the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, the Pacific Research Institute and the George C. Marshall Institute.

The Cooler Heads Coalition was originally a project of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) which has received large donations from major corporations and industry foundations.  For example, the CEI has received $2,005,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.87FACTSHEET: COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, CEI,ExxonSecrets. Archived March 13, 2014. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/C1FSK

September 2000

McKitrick wrote a letter (PDF) to the Joint Standing Committee On Treaties Inquiry into the Kyoto Protocol, Parliament of Australia. McKitrick summarizes his points as follows:88“Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties Inquiry into the Kyoto Protocol Parliament of Australia” (PDF) Dr. Ross McKitrick, September 26, 2000. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“I advise the Joint Standing Committee to recommend that Australia not ratify the Kyoto Protocol. This stance is justified on four grounds.

  • “The relative effect of GHG emissions on the global climate is subject to considerable uncertainty.
  • “Even if GHG emissions cause some warming, it will be slow and largely benign.
  • “Even if some aspect of global warming is harmful, the Kyoto Protocol will not stop it.
  • The costs of the Kyoto Protocol exceed any identifiable benefits.”

Nov 22, 1999

The Fraser Institute released a report in 1999 that disputed with the Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada that there were 339 endangered species. Instead, the Fraser Institute preferred its own conservative estimate of 91 endangered species.89Laura Jones and liv Fredricksen. “Crying Wolf?: Public Policy on Endangered Species,The Fraser Institute, October, 1999. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/OEH18

In a Canadian Press article, Stephen Legault, the spokesperson for Alberta Wilderness Association, described the report as “another effort at fearmongering and misinformation by a right-wing think tank.”90Ross McKitrick,” SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/szooz

Sourcewatch reports that McKitrick sent a letter to the editor of the Guelph Mercury newspaper that accuses Legault of being “blinded by ideology.” McKitrick claimed that the U.S. Endangered Species Act “imposes draconian restrictions on use of private land on which rare species are present. Since these rules destroy property value, landowners across the U.S. now work to make their lands inhospitable to endangered species.”91Ross McKitrick,” SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/szooz

Affiliations 

Social Media

@RossMcKitrick on Twitter.

Publications

According to a search of 22,000 academic journals, McKtrick has published peer-reviewed articles mainly in the area of economics and more recently on the topic of “Mann’s hockey stick.”  A full list of McKitrick’s publications is available here.99Publications and Papers,” Ross McKitrick. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/RF5i7

Sample Op-Eds

PublicationTitleDate
Financial PostRoss McKitrick: Drop all this carbon-tax boosterism; they could easily do more harm than good15-Sep-16
Financial PostOntario electricity has never been cheaper, but bills have never been higher10-Aug-16
Regina Leader-PostLet’s have a cool, civil debate about global climate change25-Jul-16
Financial PostJunk Science Week: What’s the right price for carbon? Take a guess (everyone else is)16-Jun-16
Financial PostRoss McKitrick: Climate crazy Ontari-ari-ario’s no place to grow, but to get the hell out of17-May-16
Financial PostThe con in consensus: Climate change consensus among the misinformed is not worth much11-May-15
Financial PostRoss McKitrick: How politicians wrecked the case for carbon taxes15-Mar-16
Financial PostRoss McKitrick: The electric car is dead, executed by Al Gore and his environmental allies19-Jan-16
Financial PostSo much for the science, Trudeau government sticks to pre-determined climate agenda25-Nov-15
Cato InstituteWhat Chicago Can Teach the Pope21-Sep-15
National PostRoss McKitrick: When Margaret met Preston08-Sep-15
The HillEven if you buy the science, the policy still fails27-Aug-15
Real Clear PolicyClean Power Plan: Acid Rain Part 2?26-Aug-15
Financial PostOntario’s job killer: Business sounds alarm over soaring electricity prices10-Jul-15
Financial PostHow green energy is fleecing Ontario electricity consumers29-Oct-14
Financial PostGuy at Broadbent Institute is pretty sure he rebutted report he hasn’t read08-Oct-14

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