Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, an outspoken critic of President Obama’s climate agenda, won’t be attending the Paris climate talks, but instead will address via recording a meeting of climate change skeptics being held in conjunction with the talks.
On Monday, he will address the conference hosted by the conservative Heartland Foundation, which is well known for its anti-climate change advocacy.
“We hoped to have Sen. Inhofe at our event in the flesh, but he could not fit us into his schedule,” said Jim Lakely, spokesman for the Heartland Institute. “We are honored that he took the time to record a message for our conference, in which he expresses his views on the deliberations at COP-21 in Paris. His remarks are welcome and bound to make international news.”
The Oklahoma senator is the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, with direct oversight of emission rules and climate change programs that make up the president’s climate agenda.
Inhofe has become synonymous with Republicans’ staunch opposition to the notion of climate change, which most scientists say is being caused by human activity and the burning of fossil fuels.
He gave a floor speech at the beginning of this year in which he threw a snowball to show that the idea of the Earth warming was a farce.
Inhofe traveled to the last round of global climate talks in Copenhagen in 2009, where he spelled out the GOP’s opposition to enacting an economy-wide cap-and-trade system in the U.S.
That climate deal failed over disagreements by developing nations over having to cut emissions in line with the developed world.
