CEI Letter to President William J. Clinton

COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE
INSTITUTE

September 26, 1997

President William J. Clinton
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I want to commend you for your decision to host a White House
conference on global climate change, in Washington, on October 6.
This event has the potential significantly to improve public
understanding of the scientific, economic, and political issues
connected with the ongoing negotiations over the Kyoto Protocol.

Such potential can be realized, however, only if participation
in your conference is open to the full spectrum of informed
opinion and recognized expertise on these complex subjects.
Unfortunately, it appears that invitations are now being extended
predominantly, if not exclusively, to those who advocate
increased government control over U.S. and world energy markets.
The public interest would be poorly served by such an exercise in
“preaching to the choir.” It goes without saying that
the associated taxpayer expenditures would be unjustified.

In the interest of assisting you and your staff in making this
event a White House conference truly worthy of the name, I urge
you to include, in numbers equal to the Climate Treaty’s
proponents, distinguished individuals drawn from the ranks of the
scientific, business, public interest, and national security
communities, who have expressed skepticism about the science of
global warming and/or the mandatory energy-use restrictions the
Treaty would entail.

For example, a strong case can be made that the best way to
prepare for the possible consequences of climate change is not to
restrict wealth creation or lock mankind into politically-correct
paths of economic and technological development but to improve
the overall resilience and adaptability of human societies by
making the world freer and, hence, wealthier. That viewpoint,
however, has been all but ignored by most commentators and policy
makers. The White House Conference would be an ideal occasion to
give this neglected alternative a fair hearing. I have taken the
liberty of attaching an illustrative list of prominent
individuals who could help provide balance to the proceedings.

We at the Competitive Enterprise Institute hope that you share
our desire for a genuine and informed debate on climate change
prior to the completion of the Kyoto Protocol and decisions about
whether the United States will be subject to its constraints. If
so, we look forward to working with you to ensure the success of
the upcoming conference.

Sincerely,
/Signed/
Fred L. Smith, Jr.