Motives
Conspiracy theorists have given a number of different, and sometimes contradictory reasons why they think global warming has been promoted:
- A desire on the part of the United Nations and its supporters to promote a system of world government or global governance.
- A desire on the part of climate science researchers to attract financial support
- What Melanie Phillips described as "yet another variation of left-wing, anti-American, anti-west ideology which goes hand in hand with anti-globalisation."
- A desire on the part of conservative political leaders including Margaret Thatcher, and Helmut Kohl to promote nuclear power while attracting the political support of Green groups
- A desire on the part of leftwing political leaders to promote socialism:
- Czech President Václav Klaus said that "This ideology preaches earth and nature and under the slogans of their protection – similarly to the old Marxists – wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central, now global, planning of the whole world"
- Nick Minchin, Australian former leader of the Opposition in the Senate stated on the ABC program 4 Corners that "For the extreme left it provides the opportunity to do what they've always wanted to do, to sort of de-industrialise the western world. You know the collapse of communism was a disaster for the left, and the, and really they embraced environmentalism as their new religion."
- Statements made or allegedly made by various supporters of climate change policies have been quoted as giving support to the idea that anthropogenic global warming may be used primarily for political purposes.
- According to a critical editorial written by Peter Menzies in the Calgary Herald, Christine Stewart, former Canadian Environment Minister for the Liberal Party of Canada, said in 1998 that "No matter if the science is all phoney, there are collateral environmental benefits.
- According to the 1993 book Science under Siege by Michael Fumento, former US Senator Timothy Wirth, (D-Colo) said that "We've got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing – in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.."
Read more about this topic: Global Warming Conspiracy Theory
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