The organisation of denial: Conservative think tanks and environmental scepticism

TLDR

Environmental scepticism denies the seriousness of environmental problems, and self‑professed “sceptics” claim to be unbiased analysts combating “junk science.” The study quantitatively analyzes 141 English‑language environmentally sceptical books published between 1972 and 2005. The authors examine these books and the involvement of conservative think tanks, finding that 90 % of the think tanks engaged in environmental issues espouse scepticism. Over 92 % of the books are linked to conservative think tanks, 90 % of those think tanks espouse scepticism, and the authors conclude that scepticism is an elite‑driven counter‑movement that has weakened U.S. environmental commitment.

Abstract

Environmental scepticism denies the seriousness of environmental problems, and self-professed 'sceptics' claim to be unbiased analysts combating 'junk science'. This study quantitatively analyses 141 English-language environmentally sceptical books published between 1972 and 2005. We find that over 92 per cent of these books, most published in the US since 1992, are linked to conservative think tanks (CTTs). Further, we analyse CTTs involved with environmental issues and find that 90 per cent of them espouse environmental scepticism. We conclude that scepticism is a tactic of an elite-driven counter-movement designed to combat environmentalism, and that the successful use of this tactic has contributed to the weakening of US commitment to environmental protection.