Open Letter from CLINTEL to World Leaders:
“Fight virus not carbon”

The Hague, March 23, 2020
Professor Guus Berkhout
President of CLINTEL
guus.berkhout@clintelgroup.org

Your Excellencies,

LESSON IN HUMILITY ­– UNPREDICTABLE NATURAL FORCES CHANGE THE WORLD

The world is in the middle of a serious health crisis. Today, the people of the world face a true emergency – a health crisis in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. People need an inspiring narrative that promises them a hopeful future. Today, for instance, it is totally inappropriate that the trillion-dollar Green New Deal focused on climate is still on the agenda of leaders such as Mr. Antonio Guterres of the UN and Mr. Frans Timmermans of the EU.

Your Excellencies, compared to COVID-19 climate change is a non-problem! It is based on computer models and looks into the far future. In current health emergency, however, your attention to the peoples’ needs is today! Please, don’t continue pushing your zero carbon emission ambition in a time that the world is dealing with a deadly global crisis. Yes, there is an emergency, but it is NOT the climate.

While courageous doctors and nurses are saving many lives, climate alarmists and climate critics should stop fighting, step over their own shadow and work together against this deadly virus. In this difficult time, humility suits us all. World leaders, please show us the way! As a very first step, designated Green New Deal money must be redirected and invested in a significantly better global health system. In such a renovation process, don’t exclude critical professionals. History tells us that a pandemic like COVID-19 will happen again. At least, we must be better prepared.

ZERO CARBON EMISSION – IMPOSSIBLE AND UNDESIRABLE

The past 150 years show that affordable and reliable energy is key to public health, sanitation, education and prosperity. The past 150 years also show that more CO2 is beneficial for nature, greening the Earth and increasing the yields of crops. Why do world leaders ignore these hard facts? Why do world leaders do the opposite with their Green New Deal and lower the quality of life by forcing high-cost, dubious low-carbon energy technologies upon their citizens?

COVID-19 COMBINED WITH ZERO CARBON – AN UNFORGIVABLE MISTAKE

Today, billions of public monies need to be spent to avoid mass bankruptcies and to get the economy on its feet again after we have left the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. CLINTEL’s strong advice to the world leaders is: “To revive the global economy don’t further increase government debts. Instead, apply the money intended for your costly Green New Deal to the present needs of people and society. Call it the COVID-19 RECOVERY PLAN. Be aware that in today’s crisis the conjectural policy of CO2 reduction is highly counterproductive!”

CLINTEL’S ADVICE FOR THE FUTURE – FIGHT VIRUS NOT CARBON

The world is moving to an open global economy of ten billion people. Top priority must be given to significant investments in a global health system that makes any pandemic less catastrophic. Considering COVID-19, climate alarmists and climate critics should admit that global warming is a non-problem. Therefore, stop fighting, step over your own shadow and work together against the deadly virus. In this tough battle we need each other!

Your Excellencies, be responsible to the people and stop immediately with the Green New Deal plans. These plans would push the global economy into an even deeper recession. Please, don’t spend billions of dollars on subsidizing dubious low-carbon energy technologies and mass deforesting projects for biomass fuel while thousands are dying. Use these designated billions of dollars to improve the global health system on our planet. In CLINTEL’s COVID-19 RECOVERY PLAN we also suggest to issue bonds to invest in a top global monitoring system that informs experts about early changes in group-health all over the world.

Yours sincerely, CLINTEL’s ambassadors,
Nobel Laureate Professor Ivar Giaever, Norway/USA
Professor Guus Berkhout, The Netherlands
Professor Reynald Du Berger, French speaking Canada
Terry Dunleavy, New Zealand
Viv Forbes, Australia
Professor Jeffrey Foss, English speaking Canada
Jens Morton Hansen, Denmark
Morten Jødal, Norway
Professor Demetris Koutsoyiannes, Greece
Rob Lemeire, Dutch speaking Belgium
Professor Richard Lindzen, USA
Professor Henri A. Masson, French speaking Belgium
Professor Ingemar Nordin, Sweden
Jim O’Brien, Republic of Ireland
Professor Ian Plimer, Australia
Douglas Pollock, Chile
Professor Alberto Prestininzi, Italy
Professor Benoît Rittaud, France
Dr. Thiago Maia, Brasil
Professor Fritz Vahrenholt, Germany
The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, United Kingdom