'I hope some of those politicians get brave enough to stand up and take some different positions,' CEO says
David Bell · CBC News 
'It is a matter of profound disappointment to me that science and economics have taken on some strange political ownership,' Suncor president and CEO Steve Williams told the audience at a sold-out event Wednesday in Calgary. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)
The head of Canada's largest oil company says climate change is backed by science, and deniers, including politicians, need to do a U-turn and accept it.
Suncor Energy Inc. president and chief executive officer Steve Williams — speaking on a panel during the event in Calgary titled Bridging Divides: In Search of Sound Public Policies for Energy and Environment in Canada — said he's unhappy with how the debate on climate change has become so polarizing.
"It is a matter of profound disappointment to me that science and economics have taken on some strange political ownership. Why the science of the left-wing is different than the science of the right-wing. Why it's not possible for, certainly within Canada for conservatives, to take a conversation about, 'Hey, it's just a fact. Let's get some facts out on the table,'" Williams told the crowd at the sold-out event.
"Climate change is science. Hardcore science. What we have been talking about here is economics. Science and economics. Both very important subjects, not perfectly understood. Periods of discovery go on forever and we keep getting better and better at those things."
Williams said conservation is a no-brainer.
"It makes sense to consume things sensibly. Common sense is not a big part of the conversation that normally goes on on this thing," he said.
"Energy efficiency, the sensible use of what is a finite resource. My belief is that we will run out of these things in the not too distant future, 100 or 200 years, so we better use them very wisely."
Williams didn't hold back on politicians who aim their rhetoric at deniers.
"I find it scary. And I find the current politics of it — where if you want to vote this side of the politics or that side of the politics, you have to be a believer or not a believer — is complete nonsense, and we shouldn't allow that framing of the debate," Williams said.
"And I hope some of those politicians get brave enough to stand up and take some different positions on it."
And this is the biggest problem... that it has become so political and, as such, has become very nearly hysterical.
Yes, climate change is real; the planet is getting warmer; I have been saying that since the 1980s, and it has been very obvious. But far-left lunatics are over-reacting, using hyperbole constantly, and calling those who doubt global warming, or who doubt the speed of global warming, insulting, immature names. Mind you, some may deserve it for doing the same thing to those who believe in global warming, but it is not helpful to turn science into emotion.
Science, as Mr Williams stated, is on the side of climate change proponents. This makes deniers easy targets for those who have unshakable faith in science, and those who believe themselves to be superior persons. But making fun of those who disagree with you, even when science seems to support you, is not the behaviour of a superior person, but a lesser person - an immature person.
A superior person would ask himself why deniers can't see the obvious? And if he was willing to look closely, he would see why. He would see that there is evidence that the numbers have been cooked. Science requires unbiased research. A true scientist must be willing to accept that the theory he proposes may be completely wrong. Many climate change scientists are simply not willing to look at that possibility. Scientists who are willing to look at other possibilities cannot get funding for research.
This is literally a conspiracy theory with lots of supporting evidence. It doesn't deny that science supports global warming, but it denies that the science is not unbiased as science must be.
A couple years ago I posted a story from the UK where a British Lord overheard another British politician declare that the next attempt at a climate accord (Paris 2015) would be successful because the two world leaders who refused to sign the Copenhagen Climate Change Accord would be gone.
Sir David King, UK ambassador to IPCC, stated quite plainly that there would be an election in Canada in 2015 and they and the UN would make sure that Stephen Harper did not win. He also pointed out that Malcolm Turnbull would pull a political coup on Tony Abbott and replace him as Prime Minister of Australia. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Turnbull's middle name is Bligh.
Turnbull replaced Abbott in September 2015 and Justin Trudeau replaced Harper in early November, 2015, just in time for the December Paris accord. Harper and Abbot were the only world leaders who refused to sign in Copenhagen. Was it a conspiracy? What else could you call it?
There are many reasons why deniers have serious doubts about climate change. These are just a couple. If you want to criticize me for anything I wrote, please do so on the basis of facts and in a civil manner. Let's move this debate to a higher level than name-calling.
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