The first Climate Change Awards were presented in July 2014 to ten outstanding scientists, economists, and activists at the Ninth International Conference on Climate Change, an event hosted by The Heartland Institute and cosponsored by some 32 other organizations. The awards were sponsored by seven organizations and each accompanied by cash stipends of up to $50,000.

The second Climate Change Awards were presented in June 2015 to five outstanding scientists, economists, and activists at the Tenth International Conference on Climate Change, an event hosted by The Heartland Institute and cosponsored by some 25 other organizations. The awards were sponsored by five organizations and each accompanied by cash stipends.

The Climate Change Awards are not all from The Heartland Institute. Most awards have different sponsors. Heartland created and hosts this Web site and offers to help award sponsors with logistics.

The Climate Change Debate

Global warming has been called the most important public policy debate of our age. Those who believe in dangerous man-made global warming call for draconian reductions in the use of fossil fuels that would destroy trillions of dollars of wealth and impoverish millions of people. Rather than defend the science behind their cause, global warming alarmists typically claim “the debate is over” and demonize their critics.

Global warming “skeptics” – scientists and others who question whether the scientific debate is truly settled and ask for real data to support the claims of the alarmists – are frequently attacked in the press, by politicians (including President Barack Obama), and on countless blogs and Web sites. Some of the world’s most distinguished scientists, such as S. Fred Singer, Richard Lindzen, and Freeman Dyson, have been accused of dishonesty, incompetence, and worse.

Global warming alarmism has made people like Al Gore very wealthy while silently ruining or prematurely ending the careers of thousands of scholars and other professionals willing to speak out against a popular delusion.

The Climate Change Awards

Who honors the brave men and women willing to speak out against global warming alarmism? What awards do they receive when their politically correct universities and scientific societies turn their backs on them and refuse to honor their service to science?

Many scientists, economists, and policy experts have worked for decades fighting the politicization and misinterpretation of climate science. They’ve taken risks, both to their personal safety and to their professional careers, simply by speaking truth to power. Many have made courageous decisions that have cost them the promotions and rewards they might otherwise have received from their peers.

The Climate Change Awards were started as a way to recognize individuals of extraordinary ability and unflagging commitment to restoring sound science and common sense to the debate over global warming. These awards deliver long-overdue recognition and encouragement to their recipients.

The awards also serve to increase public awareness of the global warming realism movement and send a signal to the academy and other elite institutions saying if they won’t recognize these genuine heroes, then we will. And finally, they encourage otherwise silent scientists, philanthropists, and civic and business leaders to speak up on behalf of sound science and common sense.

Sponsoring an Award

Sponsoring a Climate Change Award is a wonderful way to encourage continued open debate and learning in the area of climate change research. It is also an opportunity for you to decide who to honor and in what fashion.

Click here for more information about becoming an award sponsor. Or contact Jim Lakely at 312/377-4000 or by email at jlakely@heartland.org.