STEM-Talk: Judith Curry and the Consequences of Climate Alarmism

Dr. Judith Curry, a climatologist known for her criticism of alarmist doomsday rhetoric about climate change, returns to STEM-Talk for her second appearance.

Curry was one of five researchers commissioned by the Department of Energy last year to draft a Climate Assessment Report summarizing the current state of climate science, particularly with a focus on how it relates to the United States. In Curry’s interview today, episode 190, STEM-Talk host Ken Ford has a conversation with Curry about the climate report’s key points, including the finding that carbon-dioxide induced warming of the planet appears to be less damaging economically than has been commonly believed.

The report, which was released this past summer, also argues that aggressive mitigation strategies for carbon dioxide emissions could be more harmful than helpful.

Today’s interview, which is now available on podcast apps, YouTube and on IHMC’s website, comes on the heels of the prestigious journal Nature retracting a study that predicted climate change and carbon emissions would cause catastrophic economic damage by the end of the century.  Curry’s interview also follows an about-face from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates who wrote a memo back in October arguing it’s time to tamp down the alarmist rhetoric that climate change will lead to humanity’s demise.

In today’s interview, Ford and Curry discuss:

• How Curry became one of five researchers handpicked by Energy Secretary Chris Wright to summarize the current state of climate science.
• The climate report’s finding that the economic damage from carbon dioxide-induced warming is less severe than is commonly believed.
• The need to redirect climate science away from alarmism toward a better understanding of natural climate variability.
• The difficulty that’s involved in linking specific extreme weather events like hurricanes to climate change.
• A paper Curry co-wrote titled “A critique of the apocalyptic climate narrative.”
• Bill Gates’ pivot away from policies urging net-zero emissions.