James Inhofe

James M. Inhofe

Credentials

Background 

Senator James (Jim)ย Inhofe is the former senior senator from Oklahoma and a member of the Republican Party. He was a ranking majority member and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.3โ€œBiography: About Senator Inhofe,โ€ Inhofe.senate.gov. Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/U2l3m 4โ€œMembers,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works. Archived September 7, 2016.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/D3Xqj Inhofe resigned on January 3, 2023. 5INHOFE, James Mountain,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived April 17, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NJxK2

According to OpenSecrets.org, Inhofe has received almost $2 millionย in political contributions from the coal and oil industry.ย Koch Industriesย is Inhofe’s top contributor, having contributed at least $105,150 since 1989. Murray Energy is the second-largest, at over $90,000.6โ€œJames M. Inhofe,โ€ OpenSecrets.org profile. Accessed October, 2017.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/Gqe2X

In 2003, the Natural Resources Defense Council reportedย Inhofe had scored zero with the League of Conservation Voters since 1997 and โ€œwas the only senator to oppose Everglades restoration, and once compared the Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo.โ€7โ€œTop Dogs: James Inhofe,โ€ย OneEarth, Spring 2003. Archived August 3, 2011.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/8aEWN

Inhofe hasย made regular speeches rejecting mainstream climate science, and has consistently voted in favor of big oil companies on oil-related bills.8โ€œSenator. James M Inhofe,โ€ OpenSecrets.org. Accessed September 22,ย 2016.

Stance on Climate Change 

December 8, 2016

In his speech at the โ€œAt the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ put on by the Heritage Foundation and Texas Public Policy Foundation, Inhofe declared:9โ€œPart 2 – At the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heritage Foundation, December 9, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œOne of the smartest things the other side did is when they got rid of, they quit talking about, global warming and started talking about climate change. Donโ€™t get caught in that trap. Iโ€™ve had to say this on the senate floor many times:ย That climate is changing. I mean, look at archaeologically, spiritually, scientifically. Climate always changes. Donโ€™t put yourself in a category where they disqualify you for that reason.โ€

March 31, 2015

โ€œWho is the real embarrassment here?

โ€œThe debate on man-driven climate change is not over. Alarmists are distracting Americans from the pain the Obama administration’s regulations will inflict on our economy while failing to make a significant impact on climate change.

โ€œLet’s not forget the words of MIT atmospheric physicist Richard Lindzen, who said carbon regulation is a bureaucrat’s dream because ‘if you control carbon, you control life’,โ€ Inhofe wrote atย USA Today.10Jim Inhofe. โ€œThe real climate embarrassment: Opposing view,โ€ย USAย Today, March 31, 2015. Archived September 22, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/uGcuP

2003

Inhofeย said in a speech on the Senate floor in 2003:ย โ€œWake up, America. With all the hysteria, all the fear, all the phony science, could it be that manmade global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people? I believe it is.โ€11โ€œColorado Climate Scientists Tell Ken Buck: Global Warming Is Not A โ€˜Hoaxโ€™,โ€ย Thinkprogress. Oct 24, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/WoEKO

โ€œI have offered compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation’s top climate scientists.โ€12(Press Release). โ€œCatastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science.โ€ James M. Inhofe. July 28, 2003. Archived February 3, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/JzZx8

The โ€œscientistsโ€ Inhofe mentioned included: Fred Singer, Richard Lindzen, David Wojick, Roy Spencer, John Christy, Paul Reiter, David Legates, Willie Soon, Sallie Baliunas, Frederick Sietz, as well as the signatories of both the Heidelberg Appeal and the Oregon Petition.13(Press Release). โ€œCatastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science.โ€ James M. Inhofe. July 28, 2003. Archived February 3, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/JzZx8

Key Quotes

February 2018

According to an article inย The Western Journalย written by Michael Bastasch, Inhofe described Trump’s proposed gas tax as โ€œwishful thinkingโ€:14Michael Bastasch. โ€œUSย Senator Says Idea That Trump Wants a Gas Tax Is โ€˜Wishful Thinkingโ€™,โ€ย The Western Journal, February 16, 2018. Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E3ffN

โ€œI know the comments that were made after that meeting and I know who made them,โ€ Inhofe said. โ€œAnd there was, I have to say, a lot of wishful thinking in his comments.โ€

โ€œAnd when the president says, โ€˜Yes, everythingโ€™s on the table,โ€™ and that would include an increase in the gas tax, he didnโ€™t say it in those words, but everything is on the table,โ€ Inhofe said. โ€œAnd then the interpretation that this person had was ‘Ah, the president now wants to have a gas tax increase.’โ€

June 1, 2017

In an interview with CBS News, speaking about Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Inhofe pointed to climate change denierย Richard Lindzen as an โ€œauthorityโ€ on climate science:15โ€œSen. James Inhofe in exiting Paris climate deal,โ€ย CBSย News, June 1, 2017. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œRichard Lindzen, who’s MIT, arguably the best authority in these circles, has said that all these things that they’re saying about the temperatures, these things, are not, are not accurate. The science is not real. And I think that the problem is that, you know, the scientists that are out there really concerned about doing the right thing are not being heard.โ€

December 8, 2016

Inhofe quoted prominent climate change denier Richard Lindzen during his speech at the โ€At the Crossroads III: Energy and Climate Policy Summitโ€: 

โ€œI always use my favorite quote of Richard Lindzen, which is that โ€˜controlling carbon is a bureaucrat’s dream. If you control carbon, you control life.โ€™ Control. Thatโ€™s what they want.โ€16โ€œPart 2 – At the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heritage Foundation, December 9, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œKeep in mind: the IPCC is the United Nations power plan. And itโ€™s one that is – thatโ€™s where it all started. And Itโ€™s really important people understand that.โ€œ17โ€œPart 2 – At the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heritage Foundation, December 9, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œThings came out like the 97% consensus, which is a joke and has been pretty much disproven.โ€œ18โ€œPart 2 – At the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heritage Foundation, December 9, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œ[The United Nations] have been behind the global warming movement since the 1970s. The 1970s. Stop and think about that.โ€19โ€œPart 2 – At the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heritage Foundation, December 9, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

Speaking on the issue of climate change in the school system: โ€œI can assure you, thatโ€™s one thing that, hand-in-hand, Scott Pruitt and I are going to try to do something to save our next generation.โ€20โ€œPart 2 – At the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heritage Foundation, December 9, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file atย DeSmog.

September 1, 2016

Inhofe spoke against President Obama joining the UN‘s global warming treaty:21โ€œInhofe To Obama: Your Climate Agenda Will Fail,โ€ย The Daily Caller, September 1, 2016. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/7k43j

โ€œHistory already shows that this Paris Agreement will fail. This latest announcement is the president attempting to once again give the international community the appearance that he can go around Congress in order to achieve his unpopular and widely rejected climate agenda for his legacy.โ€

July, 2016

Inhofe appeared on  โ€œThe Eric Metaxas Showโ€ where he warned that โ€œour kids are being brainwashedโ€ in school, RightWingWatch reported:

โ€œMy own granddaughter came home one day and said โ€ฆ โ€˜Popi, why is it you donโ€™t understand global warming?โ€™ I did some checking, and Eric, the stuff that they teach our kids nowadays, they are brainwash โ€” you have to un-brainwash them when they getย out,โ€ Inhofe said in the audio.22Brian Tashman. โ€œJim Inhofe: ‘Our Kids Are Being Brainwashed’ In School,โ€ RightWingWatch, July 26, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/chYJC

April 2016

โ€œ[C]limate change policies come at a high economic cost while having no actual impact on the climate change,โ€ Inhofe wrote atย The Daily Signal.23Jim Inhofe. โ€œObamaโ€™s Wrong: Climate Change Is Not Our Biggest Threat,โ€ย The Daily Signal, April 22, 2016. Archived September 21, 2015. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/GBVYK

February 2016

James Inhofe blamed the Flint water crisis on President Obama’s โ€œglobal warming agendaโ€:24Katie Herzog. โ€œJames Inhofe blames Flint water crisis on Obamaโ€™s climate agenda,โ€ย Grist, February 24, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/QieRF

โ€œAs a result of misplaced priorities of President Obama, who has consistently failed to partner with the states to address our nationโ€™s real needs, stories are emerging in East Los Angeles, Baltimore, communities across Ohio, and elsewhere about lead pipes and other infrastructure problems that put the health of our citizens at risk. ย In my leadership role on the EPW Committee, I have watched the Obama administration prioritize more than $120 billion for the presidentโ€™s global warming agenda at the expense of real investment in critical infrastructure.โ€

August 2013 

Inhofe appeared on Mike Huckabee’s Radio Show:

โ€œYou have to have CO2. It’s a form of fertilizer to grow things. It’s actually sought after in many cases,โ€ Inhofe said.25โ€œMike Huckabee, Jim Inhofe Give How-To On Denying Climate Change Without Any Concerns for Facts,โ€ย Huffington Post, August 19, 2013.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E6Cq0

Inhofe added some of his beliefs on climate change. HuffPost reported a few examples of Inhofe’s โ€œbad science on global warmingโ€:

โ€œWe go through these 30 year cycles.โ€26โ€œMike Huckabee, Jim Inhofe Give How-To On Denying Climate Change Without Any Concerns for Facts,โ€ย Huffington Post, August 19, 2013.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E6Cq0

โ€œWe went into a leveling-out period about eight years ago.โ€27โ€œMike Huckabee, Jim Inhofe Give How-To On Denying Climate Change Without Any Concerns for Facts,โ€ย Huffington Post, August 19, 2013.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E6Cq0

โ€œYou have to have CO2. Itโ€™s a form of fertilizer to grow things. Itโ€™s actually sought after in many cases.โ€28โ€œMike Huckabee, Jim Inhofe Give How-To On Denying Climate Change Without Any Concerns for Facts,โ€ย Huffington Post, August 19, 2013.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E6Cq0

March 2012

In a radio interview with Voice of Christian Youth America, Inhofe said his belief that global warming is a hoax was inspired by the bible:29โ€œInhofe: God Says Global Warming Is A Hoax,โ€ย ThinkProgress, March 9, 2012.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/o9Ycf

โ€œGenesis 8:22 that I use [in The Greatest Hoax] is that as long as the Earth remains there will be springtime, harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night. My point is, God’s still up there, and the arrogance of people who think that we, human beings, would be able to change what he is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.”

February 2011

โ€[โ€ฆ] for the alarmists, global warming has nothing to do with science or scientific inquiry. Science is not about the inquiry to discover truth, but a mask to achieve an ideological agenda. For some, this issue has become a secular religion, pure and simple.โ€30โ€œFirst ‘Four Pillars’ on Global Warming Speech,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, April 7, 2005. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/PoBnd

July 2010

On the subject of environmental groups: โ€œTo me it seems that it is more important to the leadership of these groups to turn their once laudable movement into a political machine by sending out their partisan snake-oil salesmen and misleading the American public regarding their purely politically partisan agenda under the guise of environmental protection.31โ€œPartisan Environmental Groups Senate Floor Statement byย U.S.ย Sen. James M. Inhofe(R-Okla),โ€ inhofe.senate.gov, October 4, 2004. Archived July 11, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/yQEmQ

โ€œWith all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science, could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people? It sure sounds like it.โ€32โ€œPartisan Environmental Groups Senate Floor Statement byย U.S.ย Sen. James M. Inhofe(R-Okla),โ€ inhofe.senate.gov, October 4, 2004. Archived July 11, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/yQEmQ

September 2008

DeSmog reported that Inhofe cited theย Farmer’s Almanac as his โ€œresearchโ€ source for aย Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting:33Page van der Linden. โ€œIncoming Transmission From Planet Flat Earth!โ€ย DeSmog, September 17,ย 2008. 34โ€œInhofe Opening Statement:ย EPWย Business Meeting, September 17, 2008,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, September 17, 2008. Archived October 2, 2008. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/MDddA

โ€œA few of the bills also address global warming. I would like to point out that according to the new Farmersโ€™ Almanac released this week and its time-honored, complex calculations that it uses to predict weather, they predict we will be in for a colder than normal winter. In addition, they suggest that based on a study of solar activity and corresponding records on ocean temperatures and climate that we will be in for a cooler, not warmer, climate, for perhaps the next half century.โ€

November 2007

โ€œThe Kyoto Protocol has no environmental benefits; natural variability, not fossil fuel emissions, is the overwhelming factor influencing climate change; satellite data, confirmed by NOAA balloon measurements, confirms that no meaningful warming has occurred over the last century; and climate models predicting dramatic temperature increases over the next 100 years are flawed and highly imperfect.โ€35โ€œ‘Sen. Inhofe Delivers Major Speech on the Science of Climate Change โ€œCatastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science’ Part 1,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, July 28, 2003. Archived September 22, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/PI5UF

โ€œThus far no one has seriously demonstrated any scientific proof that increased global temperatures would lead to the catastrophes predicted by alarmists. In fact, it appears that just the opposite is true: that increases in global temperatures may have a beneficial effect on how we live our lives.โ€36โ€œ‘Sen. Inhofe Delivers Major Speech on the Science of Climate Change โ€œCatastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science’ Part 1,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, July 28, 2003. Archived September 22, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/PI5UF

June 7, 2007

In his opening statement to โ€œAn Examination of the Views of Religious Organizations Regarding Global Warming,โ€ Inhofe said:37โ€œInhofe Opening Statement: An Examination of the Views of Religious Organizations Regarding Global Warming,โ€ Inhofe.senate.gov, June 7, 2007. Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/JQ8Ec

โ€œWe should respect creation and be wise stewards, but we must be careful not to fall into the trap of secular environmentalists who believe that man is an afterthought on this Earth who is principally a polluter.

Rather, we are made in Godโ€™s image and should use the resources God has given us.โ€

Keyย Actions

December 12, 2022

After James Inhofeโ€™s early retirement from the U.S. Senate in February 2022, a report by E&E News examined the large network of his former staffers, many of whom occupy influential positions in the energy industry and climate denial industry.38Timothy Cama. “Inhofeโ€™s legacy: A vast alumni network on climate, energy,” E&E News, December 22, 2022. Archived April 17, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mcT37

Inhofe’s network includes:

  • Andrew Wheeler– Former EPA administrator and senior adviser to  Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R)
  • Mike Catanzaro – President at  CGCN Group
  • Marty Hall – Adviser at ClearPath, senior policy fellow at Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum
  • Leacy Burke – Government relations manager at Milliken & Co.
  • Alex Hergott – President at the Permitting Institute
  • Marc Morano – Executive director of Climate Depot
  • Luke Holland – Former candidate for U.S. Senate
  • Susan Bodine – Partner at Earth & Water Law
  • Mandy Gunasekara – Principal at Section VII Strategies, candidate for Mississippi Public Service Commission
  • Devin Barrett – Vice president at Cassidy & Associates
  • David Holt – Mayor of Oklahoma City
  • Donelle Harder – Senior vice president at Pinkston
  • Matt Dempsey – Senior managing director at  FTI Consulting
  • Byron Brown – Senior counsel at Crowell & Moring
  • Daisy Gordon – Federal government affairs adviser at FirstEnergy Corp.
  • Ryan Thompson – Senior adviser at  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
  • Frank Fannon – Managing director at Fannon  Global Advisers
  • Brittany Bolen – Senior policy adviser at Sidley Austin
  • Kristina Baum – Senior vice president at Vision360 Partners
  • Louis Renjel – Senior vice president for external affairs at Duke Energy Corp.
  • Hilary Moffett – Vice president at Fortescue Future Industries
  • Anthony Lazarski – Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs
  • George Sugiyama – Principal at Sugiyama Group
  • Dimitri Karakitsos – Partner at  Holland & Knight
  • Anna Karakitsos – Principal at  Bracewell
  • Mike Ference – Partner at  S-3 Group
  • Annie Caputo – Commissioner at the  Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • George David Banks – Senior fellow at the  Atlantic Council and Citizens for  Responsible Energy Solutions Forum
  • Steve Higley – Director of U.S. government affairs at Cenovus Energy
  • Ryan Jackson – Senior vice president of government and political affairs at the National Mining Association

March 31, 2020

Ihofe was included in a list byย Rolling Stoneย  in an article titled โ€œClimate Enemies: The Men Who Sold the World.โ€ According to the magazine, โ€œbad actors are not only failing to address the crisis, theyโ€™re actively exacerbating itโ€ and the list includes โ€œAmericaโ€™s worst offenders, from fossil-fuel industry magnates, to investment gurus, to the president himself.โ€39Ryan Bort. โ€œClimate Enemies: The Men Who Sold the World,โ€ย Rolling Stone, March 31, 2020.ย Archived April 9, 2020. Archiveย URL:ย https://archive.vn/b4XwR

โ€œEPA head Andrew Wheeler used to work in Inhofeโ€™s office, as did the agencyโ€™s chief of staff, Mandy Gunasekara, who encouraged Trump to leave the Paris Agreement. ‘It gives me comfort,’ย Inhofe toldย The Washington Postย of his former staffers who are now influencing Trumpโ€™s environmental policy,โ€ the article notes. โ€œWhatโ€™s fueling Inhofeโ€™s climate denial? In 2012, he cited the Book of Genesis, arguing that humans arenโ€™t ‘able to change what [God] is doing in the climate.’ It could also be that heโ€™s received more than $2 million in donations from fossil-fuel interests over the course of his congressional career, with his biggest donors being Koch Industries and Murray Energy.โ€

August 13, 2019

Inhofe appeared in a Nature Communications article that ranked 386 โ€œclimate change contrariansโ€ 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.40Alexander Michael Petersen, Emmanuel M. Vincent, Anthony LeRoy Westerling. โ€œDiscrepancy in scientific authority and media visibility of climate change scientists and contrarians,โ€ย Nature Communications, August 13, 2019.ย Archived August 14, 2019. Archive.isย URL:ย http://archive.is/WC84u. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.

Inhofe was ranked #2 among other noted deniers, including Marc Morano (#1), Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Judith Curry, Freeman Dyson, Steven Hayward, Ross McKitrick, John Hinderaker, and Roy Spencer.41Alexander Michael Petersen, Emmanuel M. Vincent, Anthony LeRoy Westerling. โ€œDiscrepancy in scientific authority and media visibility of climate change scientists and contrarians,โ€ย Nature Communications, August 13, 2019.ย Archived August 14, 2019. Archive.isย URL:ย http://archive.is/WC84u. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.

May 1, 2019

Inhofe attended a briefing on Capitol Hill put on by the CO2 Coalition to hear findings from their report titled โ€œWhat Risingย CO2ย Means for Global Food Security.โ€42โ€œMay 1 Event: What Risingย CO2ย Means for Global Food Security,โ€ย CO2Coalition.org, April 25, 2019. Archived April 30, 2019. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/apt99

Craig Idsoย andย Caleb Rossiter were the featured presenters, and other lawmakers in attendance included Sens. Roger Wicker (Rโ€“Miss.), Maria Cantwell (Dโ€“Wash.) and Rep. Gary Palmer (Rโ€“Ala.).43โ€œMay 1 Event: What Risingย CO2ย Means for Global Food Security,โ€ย CO2Coalition.org, April 25, 2019. Archived April 30, 2019. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/apt99

The Coalitionโ€™s report described carbon dioxide as โ€œa non-polluting, non-toxic gasโ€ and โ€œa powerful plant food.โ€44โ€œMay 1 Event: What Risingย CO2ย Means for Global Food Security,โ€ย CO2Coalition.org, April 25, 2019. Archived April 30, 2019. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/apt99

The briefing suggested increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 would result in higher crop yields:

โ€œTheย CO2ย added to the air has already โ€˜greenedโ€™ the planet: since 1900, it has increased crop production on the order of 15 to 30 percent, and satellite imagery shows that deserts are even shrinking in places as new plants encroach on their edges. [โ€ฆ] this effect will only improve as carbon dioxide continues to rise from four one-hundredths of one percent of the atmosphere today to, perhaps, six one-hundredths of one percent in 50 years.โ€45โ€œMay 1 Event: What Risingย CO2ย Means for Global Food Security,โ€ย CO2Coalition.org, April 25, 2019. Archived April 30, 2019. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/apt99

January 30, 2018

EcoWatch reported that an interchange between Inhofe and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt during a oversight hearing provided โ€œa window into how ExxonMobil’s undue influence continues to block climate action.โ€46Elliott Negin. โ€œExxonMobilโ€™s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well,โ€ย EcoWatch, February 12, 2018.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/M32NT

During the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing, Sen. Cory Booker cited the threat of flooding due to climate change for three dozen Superfund sites in his state and asked Pruitt if he was โ€œtaking into account the environmental burdens disproportionately impacting communities of color, indigenous communities and low-income communities.โ€47โ€œOversight Hearing to Receive Testimony from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, January 30, 2018. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/45032

Inhofe contradicted Booker, citing testimony by Harry Alford of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, who has claimed that environmental protections are what harm low-income communities rather than climate change.48Elliott Negin. โ€œExxonMobilโ€™s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well,โ€ย EcoWatch, February 12, 2018.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/M32NT

โ€œI wanted to just remind you,โ€ Inhofe told the committee, โ€œthat we had a guy I remember so well, Harry Alford. He was the president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. He provided some of the most powerful testimony that I have ever heard when it comes to the effects of the Clean Power Plan and some of the other regulations โ€ฆ on black and Hispanic poverty, including job losses and increased energy costs.49Elliott Negin. โ€œExxonMobilโ€™s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well,โ€ย EcoWatch, February 12, 2018.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/M32NT

โ€œ[Alford] was very emphatic as to who was paying the price on these, and I think sometimes that the previous administration forgot that there are already people out there who are paying all they can pay just to try to eat and keep their house warm.โ€50Elliott Negin. โ€œExxonMobilโ€™s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well,โ€ย EcoWatch, February 12, 2018.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/M32NT

EcoWatch concluded that the source for Inhofe’s assertion was an โ€œA discredited, ExxonMobil-funded study by an Exxon-funded advocacy group that was based on discredited studies by other ExxonMobil-funded organizations.โ€51Elliott Negin. โ€œExxonMobilโ€™s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well,โ€ย EcoWatch, February 12, 2018.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/M32NT

NBCC has also been unapologetic about accepting fossil fuel money, declaring that โ€œit is only naturalโ€ on their website.52Elliott Negin. โ€œExxonMobilโ€™s Climate Disinformation Campaign Is Still Alive and Well,โ€ย EcoWatch, February 12, 2018.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/M32NT

November 30, 2017

Inhofe spoke at the โ€œAt the Crossroadsย IV: Energyย &ย Climate Policy Summitโ€ co-hosted byย The Heritage Foundationย andย Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF).53โ€œAt the Crossroadsย IV: Energyย &ย Climate Policy Summit,โ€ย The Heritage Foundation,ย November 30, 2017. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/jmAfj

โ€œThe bottom line is, we’ve won. Weโ€™ve actually won. You donโ€™t hear that because the national media doesnโ€™t like the idea,โ€ Inhofe said to the audience, pointing to changes in polls from 2002 when global warming was the number one issue in America, to now as number fifteen.ย ย โ€œThe people have caught on. They know that the science is not definite, hasnโ€™t been decided yet.โ€54โ€œAt the Crossroadsย IV: Energyย &ย Climate Policy Summit,โ€ย The Heritage Foundation,ย November 30, 2017. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/jmAfj

In the Q&A period, answering a question on what actions might need to be pursuedย to handle extreme weather, Inhofe said โ€œIโ€™m not sure that we really need anything other than we have today.โ€

โ€œWe all know climate always changes. But it changes and is more severe in some areas. And all I can say is I donโ€™t see that our effort right now is going to change from what weโ€™re doing trying to provide the help that we can provide,โ€ Inhofe said.

Another audience member asked Inhofe how, once opening upย the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling, he would prevent it being reversed. Inhofe responded:

โ€œItโ€™s not going to be reversed. And by the way, are you aware that with all these ads that youโ€™re seeing on TV right now, talking about this beautiful area, Iโ€™ve been up there. Itโ€™s not that area. But 78% of the people who live there want it. I mean, in our infinite wisdom in Washington weโ€™re telling them what they do and what they donโ€™t want. Let them do their own thing.

[โ€ฆ] Weโ€™re convinced once we get this done it will be so overwhelming that I canโ€™t think of any administration going to come along and undo it. In fact, even during the Obama Administration we only missed that by one vote. So thatโ€™s not going to happen.โ€

November 9, 2017

Inhofe gave a pre-recorded video address to the Heartland Institute’sย ย โ€œAmerica First Energy Conferenceโ€ at theย Marriott Hotel in Houston, Texas.55โ€œJIMย INHOFE,โ€ย America First Energy Conference.ย Archived November 21, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/twrTR

The event description read as follows:56โ€œAbout,โ€ America First Energy. Archived October 11, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/8bTTJ

โ€œAt the America First Energy Conference, we plan to examineโ€”one year and one day after Trumpโ€™s shocking Election Day victoryโ€”the following:

โ€œWhere does Trumpโ€™s America First Energy Plan stand?

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

โ€œWhat scientific and economic evidence is there that the plan is putting the nation on the right path for economic growth, environmental protection, or both?โ€

Asย reported at theย Houston Chronicle,ย speakers notably included two Trump Administration officials:ย Richard W. Westerdaleย IIย of the State Department and Vincent DeVito of the Department of Interior.ย David Bernhardt, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, was also formerly listed as a Heartland conference speaker, but apparently withdrew.57James Osborne. โ€œTrump officials to appear at Houston event hosted by climate skeptics,โ€ย Houston Chronicle, November 2, 2017.ย Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/XPtYc

Scott Pruittย also addressed the conference in a recorded video, personally thanking Heartland for โ€œwhat you’re doing to advance energyโ€ and โ€œfor what you’re doing to advance natural resources.58โ€œScott Pruitt,โ€ย America First Energy Conference.ย Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/X4F6m

Theย Climate Investigations Centerย put up a parody of the America First Energy conference website, complete with profiles on the individual speakers and highlighting their corporate funding and ties to groups such as theย Cooler Heads Coalition (CHC).59โ€œAmerica First Energy Conference Stacked with Climate Change Deniers,โ€ย Climate Investigations Center, November 6, 2017.ย Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/mISrd

October 9, 2017

Former environment secretaryย Owen Patersonย met with Inhofe and Myron Ebell during his tour to the US to promote aย โ€œspecial relationshipโ€ post-Brexit.ย In aย tweetย following his meeting with Inhofe and Ebell at theย CEI, Paterson wrote: โ€œReal opportunities to work more closely with theย USAย post-Brexit.โ€60Kyla Mandel. โ€œFormer Environment Secretary Promotes Post-Brexit โ€˜Special Relationshipโ€™ withย USย Climate Science Deniers,โ€ย DeSmog, December 11,ย 2017.

May 25, 2017

Inhofe is a signatory to a letter to President Trump, encouraging him to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.61โ€œDear President Trumpโ€ (PDF), United States Senate, May 25, 2017. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.

โ€œ[W]e applaud you for your ongoing efforts to reduce overregulation in America,โ€ the letter concludes. โ€œTo continue on this path, we urge you to make a clean exit from the Paris Agreement so that your Administration can follow through on its commitment to rescind the Clean Power Plan.โ€

Signatories included the followingย United States Senators:62โ€œDear President Trumpโ€ (PDF), United States Senate, May 25, 2017. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.

  • James M. Inhofe
  • John Barrasso
  • Mitch McConnell
  • John Cornyn
  • Roy Blunt
  • Roger Wicker
  • Michael B. Enzi
  • Michael D. Crapo
  • Jim Risch
  • Thad Cochran

March 23, 2017

While James Inhofe was unable to attend the Heartland Institute‘sย 12thย โ€International Conference on Climate Changeโ€ (ICCC 12), he did provide a pre-recorded message.63โ€International Conference on Climate Changeย 12,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user The Heartland Institute, March 23,ย 2017.ย 

Addressing the crowd in his conclusion, Inhofe said the Heartland Institute was doing the โ€œLord’s workโ€:

โ€œI look forward to working with President Trump [โ€ฆ] to restore credibility and balance in the context of environmental policies. 

But I’ll say to you, Heartland, the Liberal extremists are not going to give up. Obama has built a culture of radical alarmists and they’ll be back.

You and I and the American people have won a great victory, but the war goes on. Stay vigilant. You’re doing the Lord’s work.โ€

March 16, 2017

Approximately eight months after commenting that our children were being โ€œbrainwashedโ€ into believing in human-caused climate change in schools,ย DeSmogย noted that he doubled down on his statements while speaking to CNN‘s New Day. Inhofe said that theย U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was in the business of โ€œbrainwashing our kidsโ€ by releasing โ€œpropagandaโ€ about climate change and the role that human beings are playing in the destruction of the planet.64Farron Cousins. โ€œClimate Change Denier Jim Inhofe Saysย EPAย Is ‘Brainwashing’ Our Children,โ€ย DeSmog, March 16,ย 2017.

Inhofe spoke on the program regarding the impending budget cuts for the EPA. As reported byย The Hill,ย Inhofe said:65Rebecca Savransky. โ€œGOPย senator:ย EPAย ‘brainwashing our kids’,โ€ย The Hill, March 16, 2017. Archived April 11, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/jdXrt

โ€œWe want to deliver the services. We ought to make things clean [โ€ฆ] But we ought to take all this stuff that comes out of the EPA that’s brainwashing our kids, that is propaganda, things that aren’t true, allegations.โ€

December 8, 2016

Jim Inhofe was a speaker at the โ€œAt the Crossroads III Energy and Climate Summit,โ€ an event co-hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). The event was billed as โ€œthe premier energy-and-climate policy event in America,โ€ and attracted a range of prominent climate change deniers as well as a range of names connected toย Donald Trump and his transition team.66โ€œAt the Crossroadsย III: Energy and Climate Policy Summit,โ€ Heritage Foundation, December 8, 2016. Archived December 22, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/AKaKq

Inhofe notes in his keynote that โ€œAll of my heroes from the old daysโ€ were on the program, pointing to prominent climate change deniers David Legates, and Roy Spencer. Richard Lindzen and Willie Soon were also on the program. โ€œIn fact, all but one of these have been a witness in the committee I chair,โ€ Inhofe added. โ€œYouโ€™ve got them all in one room.โ€ 

Doug Domenech, director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s โ€œFueling Freedomโ€ project,ย wrote about the proceedings atย The Hill.ย Domenech outlined the common climate change denial message shared among the speakers: โ€œIs climate change real? Yes, it has happened in the past and will happen in the future. Is man making an impact on the climate? Perhaps but in very small ways. But the overarching consensus remains the climate change we are experiencing is by no means catastrophic.โ€ The full video is now listed as “private” on YouTube.67Doug Domenech. โ€œClimate change: Speaking truth to power,โ€ย The Hill, December 13, 2016. Archived December 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/zAEH5

Some notable quotes below:

โ€œAll of my heroes are on the program.โ€ [1:40]

โ€œOne of the smartest things the other side did is when they got rid of, they quit talking about, global warming and started talking about climate change. Donโ€™t get caught in that trap. Iโ€™ve had to say this on the senate floor many times:  That climate is changing. I mean, look at archaeologically, spiritually, scientifically. Climate always changes. Donโ€™t put yourself in a category where they disqualify you for that reason.โ€ [2:48]

โ€œYou may have forgotten about the fact that when this administration took office, our debt was 10.6 trillion dollars. Today itโ€™s 20 trillion dollars. Itโ€™s doubled in the last 8 years.โ€œ [4:00]

On rebuilding the military: โ€œIโ€™ve been kind of advising [Trump โ€ฆ] on the things that are of the military in nature. And weโ€™ve got to do it.โ€ [4:26]

โ€œI actually like Barbara Boxer.โ€ [6:01]

โ€œThe first person that I saw when I came in was Richard Lindzen down here [points to crowd]. Heโ€™s been my hero for a long time. [โ€ฆ] Come back at three thirty and youโ€™ve got all of my heroes from the old days back there: Spencerโ€“Dr. Spencerโ€“David Legates. In fact, all but one of these have been a witness in the committee I chair. Youโ€™ve got them all in one room.โ€ [6:52]

โ€œI was the bad guy back in the turn of the century. I mean, I was. Because after we studied this thing, I assumed like everybody else, way back when everybody was talking about global warming and all that, I assumed that that was probably right. Until I found out what it was going to cost. [โ€ฆ] . The cost range is between 300 and 400 billion dollars a year. Now, if we were to give in to that, that would be the largest tax increase in the history of America. And so I started looking at it at that time. And I started talking to some of these scientists that youโ€™re going to be seeing tonight, and I realizedโ€”and thatโ€™s when I used the nasty word โ€˜hoaxโ€™.โ€ [7:32]

โ€œThe first thing that came up was the McCain-Lieberman bill. Remember that? That was 2003. Then again in 2005. And each time itโ€™s come for a vote in the United States Senate, they have lost. And so our trend lines are good. Weโ€™re winning this thing. Very clearly.โ€ [8:24]

โ€œI always use my favourite quote of Richard Lindzen, which is that โ€˜controlling carbon is a bureaucrat’s dream. If you control carbon, you control life.โ€™ Control. Thatโ€™s what they want.โ€  [8:41]

โ€œKeep in mind: the IPCC is the United Nations power plan. And itโ€™s one that is – thatโ€™s where it all started. And Itโ€™s really important people understand that.โ€œ [10:24]

โ€œThings came out like the 97% consensus, which is a joke and has been pretty much disproven.โ€œ  [11:29]

โ€œ[The United Nations] have been behind the global warming movement since the 1970s. The 1970s. Stop and think about that.โ€ [11:43]

Speaking on the issue of climate change in the school system: โ€œI can assure you, thatโ€™s one thing that, hand-in-hand, Scott Pruitt and I are going to try to do something to save our next generation.โ€ [28:26]

Speakers included:

September 20, 2016

Senator Inhofe released a majority committeeย reportย on the EPA and Army Corps, contending they are overreaching their authority under the Clean Water Act with their changes toย the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition.68(Press Release). โ€œNEWS: Inhofe Releases Report onย EPA, Army Corps Overreach, Calls for 11 Senate Democrats to Work With Congress to Addressย WOTUS,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, September 20, 2016. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/gVV9Q 69โ€œUNITEDย STATESย SENATEย REPORT: From Preventing Pollution of Navigable and Interstate Waters to Regulating Farm Fields, Puddles and Dry Land: A Senate Report on the Expansion of Jurisdiction Claimed by the Army Corps of Engineers and theย U.S.ย Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Actโ€ (PDF), United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, September 20, 2016. Archived .pdf on file atย Desmog.

According to the EPA, the rule will ensure โ€œwaters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably determined, making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry.โ€ The rule is grounded in law and the latest science, and is shaped by public input.โ€œ70โ€œClean Water Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’โ€ (PDF), Federal Register Vol. 80, No. 124 (June 29, 2015). Archived .pdf on file atย Desmog.

โ€œFor the water in the rivers and lakes in our communities that flow to our drinking water to be clean, the streams and wetlands that feed them need to be clean too,โ€ said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. โ€œProtecting our water sources is a critical component of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea level rise, stronger storms, and warmer temperatures โ€“ which is why EPA and the Army have finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect these important waters, so we can strengthen our economy and provide certainty to American businesses.โ€71โ€œClean Water Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’โ€ (PDF), Federal Register Vol. 80, No. 124 (June 29, 2015). Archived .pdf on file atย Desmog.

September 1, 2016

Inhofe spoke against President Obama joining the UN‘s global warming treaty.72โ€œInhofe To Obama: Your Climate Agenda Will Fail,โ€ย The Daily Caller, September 1, 2016. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/7k43j ย Inhofe’s full statement, published at the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, reproducedย below:73(Press Release). โ€œInhofe Statement on U.S., China Announcement on Paris Agreement,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, September 1, 2016. Archive September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/9Kx4i

โ€œHistory already shows that this Paris Agreement will fail. Half of the countries that were legally bound to the Kyoto Protocol treaty failed to adhere to their pledges, and the host country of Japan even increased their carbon emissions. Now we find ourselves celebrating an agreement where the worldโ€™s largest carbon emitter, China, is permitted to increase their emissions until 2025 and to continue bringing a coal-fired power plant online every 10 days. We even turn a blind eye to the fact that China lied about its carbon emissions when it first came to the table with its pledge last year. Itโ€™s no wonder Americans will never support this deal, especially when our president promises unrealistic and economically harmful emission reductions of up to 28 percent that will send more jobs overseas and reduce our global competitiveness in the marketplace. This latest announcement is the president attempting to once again give the international community the appearance that he can go around Congress in order to achieve his unpopular and widely rejected climate agenda for his legacy. The Senate does not support the Paris Agreement, which is why his administration prefers to not call it a treaty, and the centerpiece of the presidentโ€™s emission reduction commitments, the Clean Power Plan, is on shaky legal ground, which the United States Supreme Court recently affirmed. Furthermore, environmental groups and industry agree that the U.S. commitments made under the Paris Agreement cannot be met with regulations and would require legislation from Congress that will never pass.โ€

July 27, 2016

James Inhofe went on conservative talk radio where he told radio host Eric Metaxas thatย ย that schools were โ€œbrainwashingโ€ children about climate change.74Farron Cousins. โ€œClimate Denier Jim Inhofe Goes Full Conspiracy Theorist In Unhinged Rant About Global Warming,โ€ย Desmog, August 2,ย 2016.

Right Wing Watch has the full audio availableย (listen below), but here is the line where Inhofe expresses his view:75Brian Tashman. โ€œJim Inhofe: ‘Our Kids Are Being Brainwashed’ In School,โ€ RightWingWatch, July 26, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/chYJC

โ€œMy own granddaughter came home one day and said โ€ฆ โ€˜Popi, why is it you donโ€™t understand global warming?โ€™ I did some checking, and Eric, the stuff that they teach our kids nowadays, they are brainwash โ€” you have to un-brainwash them when they get out [โ€ฆ]โ€

April 21, 2016

Under Senator Inhofe’s guidance, the EPW Majority released a white paper contending that the Paris climate agreement will fail (PDF).76โ€œLESSONSย FROMย KYOTO:ย PARISย AGREEMENTย WILLย FAILย NATIONALย ECONOMIESย ANDย THEย CLIMATEโ€ (PDF), United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Archived .pdf on file atย Desmog.

On the same day, Inhofe published a piece in the New York Post Titled โ€œEarth Day Marks the Composting of the Global Climate Deal.โ€ย Inhofe concludes:77James Inhofe. โ€œEarth Day marks the composting of the global climate deal,โ€ย New York Post, April 21, 2016. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/KoT5J

โ€œThe Paris Agreement faces insurmountable problems ahead, with the most obvious being that the United States canโ€™t follow through on President Obamaโ€™s commitment and may even withdraw its support with a new president come January.

The message could not be clearer to the international community: the Paris Agreement is not only misguided. It was also a waste of everyoneโ€™s time.โ€78James Inhofe. โ€œEarth Day marks the composting of the global climate deal,โ€ย New York Post, April 21, 2016. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/KoT5J

December 7, 2015

Sen. James (Jim) Inhofe delivered a video keynote address at the Heartland/CEI/CFACT โ€œDay of Examining the Dataโ€ climate science denial gathering in Paris during COP21. Other climate science deniers at the โ€œDay of Examining the Data,โ€ included: S. Fred Singer, Christopher Monckton, James Taylor, Patrick Moore, Wolfgang Mรผller, Robert Carter, Christopher Essex, and Willie Soon.79โ€œOpening Breakfast Keynote with Sen. James Inhofe,โ€ Heartland Institute, June 11, 2015. Archived July 14,ย 2015. 80โ€œBringing Climate Realism to Paris atย COP-21,โ€ Heartland Institute, December 7, 2015.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/NIkCy

In his address, Sen. Inhofe promised the assembled deniers that the United Nations COP21 summit would fail as prior international summit attempts had. (Days later, world leaders from nearly 200 nations agreed to the historic Paris climate agreement.)81Tony Dokoupil and Elizabeth Chuck. โ€œWorld Leaders in Paris Agree to ‘Historic’ Deal on Climate Change,โ€ย NBCย News, December 12, 2015. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/pN44w

โ€œPast COPs have revealed that these meetings are not meant to produce anything substantive, and I promise you that the COP21 will follow suit. Nothing’s gonna happen.โ€ [Video at 4:57-5:10]82โ€œOpening Breakfast Keynote with Sen. James Inhofe,โ€ Heartland Institute, June 11, 2015. Archived July 14,ย 2015.

June 11โ€“12, 2015

James Inhofe was a speaker at the Heartland Instituteโ€™s Tenth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC10) in Washington, D.C.83โ€œSpeakers,โ€ Heartland Institute. Archived June 30, 2015.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/lpiqu

View James Inhofeโ€™s Opening Keynote presentation at the Heartland Instituteโ€™s ICCC10, below:84โ€œOpening Breakfast Keynote with Sen. James Inhofe,โ€ Heartland Institute, June 11, 2015. Archived July 14,ย 2015.

EcoWatch reports that Inhofe spoke against Pope Francis’s involvement in the climate change debate:85Anastasia Pantsios. โ€œSenator James Inhofe to Pope Francis: Butt Out of Climate Debate,โ€ย EcoWatch, June 12, 2015. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/iMAHQ

โ€œEveryone is going to ride the Pope now. Isnโ€™t that wonderful,โ€ said Inhofe sarcastically. โ€œThe Pope ought to stay with his job, and weโ€™ll stay with ours.โ€

โ€œI am not going to talk about the Pope,โ€ he said, immediately after doing so. โ€œLet him run his shop, and weโ€™ll run ours.โ€

March 2015

Senator James Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor as a prop to show that climate change isn’t occurring. As reported byย ThinkProgress, the snowball brought some ridicule to the Senator, even from the Republican party.86โ€œJoe Romm. Snowball’s Chance: James Inhofe, Meet The Press, And The Climate Debate,โ€ ThinkProgress, March 4, 2015.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/shXek

Nicole Wallace, former communications chief and senior advisor for the McCain-Palin campaign under George Bush, spoke out against it: ย โ€œThe weather is changingโ€ฆ. Itโ€™s terrible for the Republican Party to look like we canโ€™t acknowledge reality,โ€ she said. โ€œBut it is moronic to throw snow in the Capitol and say, I donโ€™t know, I don’t think anything is changing.โ€87โ€œJoe Romm. Snowball’s Chance: James Inhofe, Meet The Press, And The Climate Debate,โ€ ThinkProgress, March 4, 2015.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/shXek

August 19, 2013

Senator Inhofe called into Mike Huckabee’s radio show to discuss conspiracy theories on global warming.88โ€œMike Huckabee, Jim Inhofe Give How-To On Denying Climate Change Without Any Concerns for Facts,โ€ย Huffington Post, August 19, 2013.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E6Cq0

According to theย Huffington Post, Inhofe’s appearance was โ€œmostly a chance for him to rehash bad science on global warmingโ€ including claims such as: (audio below).89โ€œMike Huckabee, Jim Inhofe Give How-To On Denying Climate Change Without Any Concerns for Facts,โ€ย Huffington Post, August 19, 2013.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/E6Cq0

  • โ€œWe go through these 30-year cycles.โ€ 
  • โ€œWe went into a leveling-out period about eight years ago.โ€ 
  • โ€œYou have to have CO2. Itโ€™s a form of fertilizer to grow things. Itโ€™s actually sought after in many cases.โ€

February 2012

Introduced aย Congressional Review Act resolutionย proposingย the elimination of theย EPA‘s Mercury and Air Toxics Standardsย (MATS)ย for power plants. Inhofe’s proposal was ultimately voted down in the Senate by a vote of 53 toย 46.90โ€œS.J.Res.37 – A joint resolution to disapprove a rule promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency relating to emission standards for certain steam generating units,โ€ย Congress.gov. Accessed February 25,ย 2018. 91Kevin Grandia. โ€œGoogle Promotes Involvement in Coal Industry Campaign to Blockย EPAย Mercury Emission Regulations,โ€ย DeSmog, June 5,ย 2013.

March 3, 2011

Introduced the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, a billย designed to limit the authority of the EPA over industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. While the bill was introduced, it was not enacted.92โ€œS. 482 (112th): Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011,โ€ govtrack.us. Accessed September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/ngjmP

Inhofe had also attended the February 9ย hearing by the House Committee on Energy and Commerceโ€™s Subcommittee on Energy and Power to discuss the legislation.ย The Centre for American Progress Action Fund (CAP) provided a backgrounder on the hearingย outlining how support in theย Committee on Energy and Commerce had been funded byย Koch Industries and partners.93TJย Scolnick. โ€œUpton’s Show Trial To Attackย EPAย Carbon Controls Set For Wednesday Morning,โ€ย DeSmog, February 8,ย 2011.

ThinkProgressย also reported on what it called the โ€œCommittee from Koch.โ€94โ€œHouse Energy and Commerce ‘Committee from Koch’ย to conduct global warming witch trial,โ€ย ThinkProgress, February 8,ย 2011.

June 30, 2011

Inhofe gave a Keynote Address at the Heartland Institute‘s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC6) in Washington, D.C.95Heartland Institute. โ€œSixth International Conference on Climate Change.โ€ Archived July 26,ย 2016.ย  Desmog has done in-depth research on the other speakers and sponsors from Heartland’s ICCC6.96Brendan DeMelle. โ€œDenial-a-Palooza 6: Heartland’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, Courtesy of Koch, Scaifeย &ย Exxon,โ€ย Desmog.ย 

January 2011

Jim Inhofe attendedย a closed door meeting with lobbyists from the energy industry,ย DeSmogย andย Politicoย reported.97Farron Cousins. โ€œIs The Energy Industry Writing Policy Again?โ€ย DeSmog, January 20,ย 2011.ย 98Robin Bravender and Darren Goode. โ€œGOPย staff, energy lobby in talks,โ€ย Politico, January 20, 2011.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/KR2bN

According to the report from Politico, โ€œThe roster of those attending the invitation-only gathering is being kept under lock and key, though it is believed to include the American Petroleum Institute, National Mining Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association,ย U.S.Chamber of Commerce, and others.โ€99Robin Bravender and Darren Goode. โ€œGOPย staff, energy lobby in talks,โ€ย Politico, January 20, 2011.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/KR2bN

December 2009

Inhofe appeared at the Third International Climate Conference on Copenhagen to spread the message that โ€œGlobal warming is a hoax, and thereโ€™s no way the Senate is going to pass a cap-and-trade bill.โ€100Louise Roug. โ€œJim Inhofe gets cool reception in Denmark,โ€ย Politico, December 19, 2009.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/l0dG4

June 2009

James Inhofe was a speakerย at the Heartland Institute‘s Third International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC3). View Inhofe’s speech, titledย โ€œWhy Inside the Beltway Loves Cap-and-Trade and Why Main Street Rejects It,โ€ below.101โ€œWhy Inside the Beltway Loves Cap-and-Trade and Why Main Street Rejects It,โ€ Heartland Institute. Archived November 2, 2017. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/kjgDo

January 30, 2008

Inhofe was a witness,102Page van der Linden. โ€œPaying For The Science They Want: Alaska State Legislators Go Denier-Shopping Status message,โ€ย DeSmog, May 9,ย 2008. along with โ€œexpertโ€ J. Scott Armstrong, at a U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing to discuss the survival of polar bears.103โ€œFull Committee Hearing entitled, โ€œExamining Threats and Protections for the Polar Bear’,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, January 30, 2008. Archived July 30, 2008. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/73Mzd In his statement, Inhofe claimed: โ€œListing the bear as a threatened species is not about protecting the bear but about using the ESA to achieve global warming policy that special interest groups can not otherwise achieve through the legislative process. These groups have made their agenda clear.โ€104โ€œStatement of James M. Inhofe: Hearing: Full Committee Hearing entitled, ‘Examining Threats and Protections for the Polar Bear’,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, January 30, 2008. Archived July 8, 2008. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/1NOu3

Dec 20, 2007

Inhofe released a report claiming that over 400 scientists disputed man-made global warming.105Marc Morano. โ€œUpdate:ย U. S.ย Senate Minority Report: More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims – Scientists Continue to Debunk ‘Consensus’ย in 2008 – Released: December 11, 2008,โ€ย The Inhofeย EPWย Press Blog, December 20, 2007. Archived June 12, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/qjlxt

Senator Inhofe’s list has since been debunked, and shown to include many individuals with no experience in climate science.106โ€œWho’s Who on Inhofe’s List of 400 Global Warming Deniers,โ€ย The Daily Green, January 11, 2008. Archived June 4, 2012.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/F9hrH

July 28, 2003

Made a floor speech titled โ€œThe Science of Climate Change.โ€107โ€œ‘Sen. Inhofe Delivers Major Speech on the Science of Climate Change โ€œCatastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science’ Part 1,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, July 28, 2003. Archived September 22, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/PI5UF

Inhofeย was later criticizedย forย misrepresenting the views of climatologist Stephen Schneider and meteorologist Tom Wigley in his speech.108โ€œEarth Last,โ€ย The American Prospect, April 13, 2004. Archived May 6, 2008.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/m4EaR

Inhofe had claimed that calculations published by Schneider in the journal Nature โ€œcast serious doubtโ€ on the IPCC‘s upper-end projection of 5.8 degrees (Celsius) of warming by 2100.109โ€œEarth Last,โ€ย The American Prospect, April 13, 2004. Archived May 6, 2008.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/m4EaR

Schneider wrote, โ€œIt is misrepresenting my views to characterize them as even implying that IPCC has exaggerated or failed to describe the state of the science fairly.โ€ McCain quoted this line to Inhofe on the Senate floor on October 29, 2003. Yet in response to the Prospect, Inhofe’s staff made no mention of Schneider’s thorough critique.110โ€œEarth Last,โ€ย The American Prospect, April 13, 2004. Archived May 6, 2008.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/m4EaR

October 4, 2004

Inhofe made a floor Speech, titled โ€œPartisan Environmental Groupsโ€ where he accused environmental groups of having โ€œmore interest in hyping apocalyptic environmental scenarios to raise money for raw political purposes rather than working together to improve our environment for the benefit of all Americans.โ€111โ€œPartisan Environmental Groups Senate Floor Statement byย U.S.ย Sen. James M. Inhofe(R-Okla),โ€ inhofe.senate.gov, October 4, 2004. Archived July 11, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/yQEmQ

January 4, 2005 

Made a floor speech titled โ€œClimate Change Update.โ€ He critiqued the Mann hockey stick graph, saying how it had โ€œseverely underestimated past climate variabilityโ€ฆ .ย In other words, in obliterating the Medieval Warming Period and the Little Ice Age, Mann’s hockey stick just doesn’t pass muster.โ€112โ€œClimate Change Update Senate Floor Statement byย U.S.ย Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla),โ€inhofe.senate.gov, January 4, 2005. Archived February 26, 2011. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/XrjLv

Inhofe also quotesย George Taylor, ย โ€œhas shown, Arctic temperatures are actually slightly cooler today than they were in the 1930s.โ€113โ€œClimate Change Update Senate Floor Statement byย U.S.ย Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla),โ€inhofe.senate.gov, January 4, 2005. Archived February 26, 2011. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/XrjLv

April 8, 2005 

Made a floor speech, titled ย โ€First ‘Four Pillars’.โ€ Inhofe describes the four pillars as:114โ€œFirst ‘Four Pillars’ on Global Warming Speech,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, April 7, 2005. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/PoBnd

โ€œ1) the 2001 National Academy of Sciences NAS report summarizing the latest science of climate change, requested by the Bush Administration;

2) the scientific work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, most especially its Third Assessment Report, released in 2001;

3) the recent report of the international Arctic Climate Impact Assessment;

and 4) the data produced by climate models.โ€ 

Inhofe claims that he will prove that โ€œnone of these pillars support the consensus view.โ€115โ€œFirst ‘Four Pillars’ on Global Warming Speech,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works, April 7, 2005. Archived September 21, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/PoBnd

December 2009 

Jim Inhofe vowed to crash the UN Climate Change Conference with a three man โ€œtruth squadโ€ย consisting of himself and two fellowย Senators.ย He was unsuccessful in securing a single meeting with conference delegates.116โ€œThe Politics of Climate Science.โ€ย O’Dwyer’s. February, 2010.ย  Archived October 31, 2014. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/YKWns

Politicoย reported that Inhofe received a cool reception when he flew to Denmark ahead of the international climate conference. Inhofe did manage to talk to a small group of reporters:117Louise Roug. โ€œInhofe gets cool reception in Denmark,โ€ย Politico, December 18, 2009.ย Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/l0dG4

โ€œWe in the United States owe it to the 191 countries to be well-informed and know what the intentions of the United States are. The United States is not going to pass a cap and trade,โ€ he said to reporters. โ€œItโ€™s just not going to happen.โ€

A reporter asked: โ€œIf thereโ€™s a hoax, then whoโ€™s putting on this hoax, and whatโ€™s the motive?”

โ€œIt started in the United Nations,โ€ Inhofe said, โ€œand the ones in the United States who really grab ahold of this is the Hollywood elite.โ€

A reporter asked Inhofe if he was referring to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A reporterย from Der Spiegelย told the senator: โ€œYouโ€™re ridiculous.โ€118Louise Roug. โ€œInhofe gets cool reception in Denmark,โ€ย Politico, December 18, 2009.ย Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/l0dG4

June 2008

In the Senate floor, Inhofe claimed thatย โ€œeverythingโ€ in former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth has โ€œbeen refuted many timesโ€ by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).119Kevin Grandia. โ€œAn Inhofian Train Wreck,โ€ย DeSmogย June 3,ย 2008.ย 120Brad Johnson. โ€œInhofe: โ€˜Everythingโ€™ in Goreโ€™s โ€˜science-fiction movieโ€™ has been refuted,โ€ย ThinkProgress, June 3, 2008.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/xlx3J

โ€œNow Al Goreโ€™s done his movie, almost everything thatโ€™s been in his movie, in fact everything has been refuted. And interestingly enough the IPCC on sea levels and other things, scare tactics, used in that science-fiction movie have been totally refuted and been refuted many times by the โ€” by the IPCC,โ€ Inhofe claimed. View video below.121Brad Johnson. โ€œInhofe: โ€˜Everythingโ€™ in Goreโ€™s โ€˜science-fiction movieโ€™ has been refuted,โ€ย ThinkProgress, June 3, 2008.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/xlx3J

March 2007

During Al Gore’s testimony on Capitol Hill, atย the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Chair Barbara Boxer had to cut off Inhofe after he interrupted Gore’s response. Video below:122โ€œJames Inhofe: The Senator for Suspect Science,โ€ย DeSmog, March 27,ย 2007.

September 2006

HuffPost reported thatย Inhofeย gave a speech criticizing the media’s coverage of climate change:123โ€œInhofe: Global-Warming Scientists, Media ‘Doomsayers’ย and Tools of ‘Hysterical Left’,โ€ย HuffPost, September 27, 2016.ย Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/zlVdG

“I want to challenge the news media to reverse course and report on the objective science of climate change, stop ignoring legitimate voices in this scientific debate, and stop being used by the hysterical left,โ€ said Inhofe. โ€œBreaking the cycles of media hysteria will not be easy since hysteria sells and it is very profitable, but I really believe the issue is getting worn out.โ€

Inhofe also criticized Al Gore’s work on climate change and An Inconvenient Truth:124โ€œInhofe: Global-Warming Scientists, Media ‘Doomsayers’ย and Tools of ‘Hysterical Left’,โ€ย HuffPost, September 27, 2016.ย Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/zlVdG

In May, our nation was exposed to perhaps one of the slickest science propaganda films of all time โ€” former Vice President Goreโ€™s โ€˜An Inconvenient Truth,โ€™โ€ said Inhofe. โ€œIn addition to having the backing of Paramount Pictures to market this film, it had the full backing of the media, and leading the cheerleading charge was none other than the Associated Press, and of course they had the elitists, from Hollywood.โ€125โ€œInhofe: Global-Warming Scientists, Media ‘Doomsayers’ย and Tools of ‘Hysterical Left’,โ€ย HuffPost, September 27, 2016.ย Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/zlVdG

Finally, on the Kyoto protocol:126โ€œInhofe: Global-Warming Scientists, Media ‘Doomsayers’ย and Tools of ‘Hysterical Left’,โ€ย HuffPost, September 27, 2016.ย Archived February 27, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/zlVdG

โ€œDuring the past year, the American people have been served up an unprecedented parade of environmental alarmism by the media and entertainment industry, which links every possible weather event to global warming. I firmly believe that when the history of our era is written, future generations will look back with puzzlement and wonder why we spent so much time and effort on global warming fears and pointless solutions, such as the Kyoto Protocol.โ€

September 28, 2005

Inhofe introduced a Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works hearing titled โ€œThe Role of Science in Environmental Policy-Making.โ€127โ€œStatement of Senator James M. Inhofe: The Role of Science in Environmental Policy-Making,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works Hearing Statements,ย  September 28, 2005. Archived March 7, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/afYYb

In his opening statement, Inhofe states that โ€œToo often the environmental policy decisions made by EPA and other science-based agencies are driven by political or personal agendas.โ€128โ€œStatement of Senator James M. Inhofe: The Role of Science in Environmental Policy-Making,โ€ย U.S.ย Senate Committee on Environmentย &ย Public Works Hearing Statements,ย  September 28, 2005. Archived March 7, 2010.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/afYYb

April 28, 2004

Inhofe was honored for his โ€œwork in promoting science-based public policyโ€ by the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy, a think-tank that disputes man-made global warming.129โ€œSen. James M. Inhofe to be Honored by the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy,โ€ U.S.ย Newswire, April 2, 2004.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/FuQGv

The Annapolis Center has received $1,048,500 from ExxonMobil since 1998.130โ€œFACTSHEET:ย ANNAPOLISย CENTERย FORย SCIENCE-BASEDย PUBLICย POLICY,ย ACSBPP,โ€ ExxonSecrets. Accessed September 21,ย 2016.

2000

Inhofe was a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 2000, trying to bar the distribution or use of the National Assessment, which analyzed potential impacts of climate change on the U.S. The Bush administration settled the lawsuit with a statement saying that the report didn’t represent official government policy.131โ€œEarth Last,โ€ย The American Prospect, April 13, 2004. Archived May 6, 2008.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/m4EaR

March 25, 1999

Inhofe andย Jeff Sessions introduced theย billย S. 724,132โ€œS. 724โ€ (PDF), 106th Congress 1st Session, Mach 25,ย 1999. callingย for the U.S. EPA to exempt enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Actโ€œ133Jeff Sessions, Trump’s Attorney General Pick, Introduced First Bill to Exempt Fracking from Drinking Water Rules,โ€ย DeSmog, December 7,ย 2016.ย  as it related toย toย hydraulic fracturing (โ€œfrackingโ€). The bill’s language eventually became a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, known now as theย โ€œHalliburton Loopholeโ€134โ€œThe Halliburton Loophole,โ€ย The New York Times, November 2, 2009. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/sOZR6ย because the company’s ex-CEOย and then-Vice President Dick Cheney headedย Energy Policy Task Forceย which helped pen the bill’sย language.135Michael Abramowitz and Steven Mufson. โ€œPapers Detail Industry’s Role in Cheney’s Energy Report,โ€ย Washington Post, July 18, 2007.ย Archived February 26, 2018. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/QeaAK

Social Media

Affiliations 

Funding

According to data from OpenSecrets, James M. Inhofe has accepted nearly $2 million in contributions from the oil industry in his career, with top contributors including Murray Energy, Koch Industries, Devon Energy, and OGE Energy.141โ€œJames M. Inhofe,โ€ OpenSecrets.org profile. Accessed October, 2017.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/Gqe2X

View top contributors below, or see the attached spreadsheet for a complete listing of Jim Inhofe’s Oil & Gas campaign contributions since 1999 (.xslx).

Company NameOil FundingCoal FundingGrand Total
Murray Energy$0$95,000$95,000
Koch Industries$77,550$0$77,550
Devon Energy$58,650$0$58,650
OGE Energy$0$49,550$49,550
Anadarko Petroleum$40,500$0$40,500
Chesapeake Energy$37,800$0$37,800
ConocoPhillips$36,700$0$36,700
National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn$0$36,444$36,444
Exxon Mobil$35,000$0$35,000
FirstEnergy Corp$0$35,000$35,000
Oil & Gas Producer$32,850$0$32,850
Williams Companies$30,250$0$30,250
Chevron Corp$29,200$0$29,200
Valero Energy$27,500$0$27,500
Southern Co$0$26,000$26,000
Occidental Petroleum$26,000$0$26,000
American Electric Power$0$24,750$24,750
Ward Petroleum$24,250$0$24,250
Alliance Resource Partners$0$24,200$24,200
National Assn of Truck Stop Operators$23,000$0$23,000
Halliburton Co$22,500$0$22,500
Xcel Energy$0$22,000$22,000
Dominion Resources$0$19,500$19,500
Duke Energy$0$19,500$19,500
BP$19,300$0$19,300
Kirby Corp$19,000$0$19,000
Newfield Exploration Co$18,800$0$18,800
ONEOK Inc$18,450$0$18,450
Pinnacle West Capital$0$17,850$17,850
Kinder Morgan Inc$17,000$0$17,000
National Propane Gas Assn$16,898$0$16,898
Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers$16,500$0$16,500
Marathon Oil$16,500$0$16,500
Petroleum Marketers Assn$15,500$0$15,500
Peabody Energy$0$15,500$15,500
Exelon Corp$0$15,500$15,500
Oil & Gas Exploration$15,500$0$15,500
NiSource Inc$0$15,500$15,500
Entergy Corp$0$15,250$15,250
Sunoco Inc$15,000$0$15,000
Lyondellbasell$14,500$0$14,500
Sinclair Oil$13,500$0$13,500
Independent Petroleum Assn of America$13,500$0$13,500
Arrow Oil & Gas$12,600$0$12,600
Wpx Energy$12,500$0$12,500
American Gas Assn$12,500$0$12,500
Jma Energy$12,400$0$12,400
Magnum Drilling Services$12,100$0$12,100
Arch Coal$0$12,000$12,000

Publications 

ClimateRealistsย previously tracked Inhofe’s actions and publications in detail. Inhofe’s senate website covers Inhofe’s latest press releases, speeches, and actions.142โ€œArticles Tagged ‘James Inhofe’,โ€ Climate Realists. Accessed September, 2016. Last post activity October 25, 2012.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/iBg3J 143Newsroom, inhofe.senate.gov. Accessed September, 2016.ย Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/HbWso

Other Resources

Resources

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