Climate Change Alarmism is Based Upon Lies: Professor William Happer, By James Reed

William Happer, a physicist of impeccable credentials—emeritus professor at Princeton, National Academy of Sciences member, and pioneer in adaptive optics—has spent decades challenging the mainstream narrative on global warming. His stance, rooted in his expertise in radiative transfer and atmospheric physics, isn't an outright denial of climate change but a sharp critique of what he sees as exaggerated alarmism and flawed science. Drawing from his public statements, interviews, and writings—like his 2021 Hillsdale College speech or his work with the CO2 Coalition—I'll lay out the key issues he raises.

Happer's scepticism starts with carbon dioxide, the linchpin of climate orthodoxy. The establishment holds that rising CO2 levels, largely from fossil fuels, trap heat and drive dangerous warming—a consensus backed by the IPCC and countless studies. Happer doesn't dispute CO2's role as a greenhouse gas; he's too rigorous a scientist for that. Instead, he argues its effect is overstated. He leans on first-principles physics, calculating that doubling atmospheric CO2 might raise temperatures by about 1°C or less—far below the IPCC's 2.5–4°C range. Why the gap? He points to climate models' reliance on positive feedback loops, particularly water vapor amplification, which he says are exaggerated because they mishandle clouds. Clouds, he contends, act as a natural thermostat—cooling when it's hot, warming when it's cold—stabilising Earth's climate far more than models admit. Geological records, he adds, show stability despite higher CO2 levels in the past, undermining claims of runaway warming.

Then there's his take on CO2 as a boon, not a bane. Happer often highlights "global greening"—satellite data showing increased plant growth over decades, tied to higher CO2. Plants, he notes, thrive on it; current levels (around 420 ppm) are a "famine" compared to the 1,000+ ppm of Earth's lush past. This isn't just a quirky aside—it's a direct jab at the "pollutant" label slapped on CO2 by the EPA's 2009 Endangerment Finding. He's argued this in submissions with Richard Lindzen, urging regulators to rethink policies that treat CO2 as a threat rather than a nutrient.

He also smells a rat in the motivations behind climate alarmism. This isn't about physics—it's about power. Happer sees a "climate-industrial complex"—governments, NGOs, renewable energy firms, even scientists—profiting from fear. Wind turbine makers, carbon credit traders, and grant-chasing researchers, he suggests, have a vested interest in keeping the crisis alive. He's called it a "power grab" and "virtue signalling," arguing that policies like Net Zero hurt ordinary people—raising energy costs, curbing freedoms—while delivering little environmental gain. His brief stint in Trump's White House in 2018–2019, pushing a climate science review, was stymied by advisors fearing electoral blowback, reinforcing his belief that politics trumps evidence.

Happer's critique extends to the science itself. He's no stranger to radiative transfer—his career includes military spectroscopy work—but he accuses climate models of oversimplifying complex systems. The IPCC's projections, he says, ignore natural variability (solar output, ocean currents) and overplay human influence. He's pointed to a 0.56°C global cooling from 2016–2018, a dip during rising CO2, as a puzzle the orthodoxy brushes off. And he's unsparing on groupthink: many scientists, he claims, haven't scrutinised raw data, just parroting peers in a self-perpetuating consensus. His own brushes with this—fired from the DOE in 1993 after clashing with Al Gore over ozone, stung by Greenpeace in 2015 for writing a pro-CO2 report—fuel his distrust.

The issues Happer raises aren't trivial. He's asking: Are we overreacting to a manageable change? Is CO2 a scapegoat for natural cycles? Are policies doing more harm than good? The answer is a resounding: yes!

https://www.freedom-research.org/p/exclusive-interview-with-prof-william

"Dr. Happer, a renowned physicist and professor emeritus at Princeton University, says that the real push for climate alarmism and related policies began in the early 1990s. "I was in Washington at the time as a government bureaucrat, and I could see it getting started. It was being pushed by Senator Al Gore and his allies," he says in an interview with Freedom Research. "At that time, there were still many honest scientists in academia who didn't go along with all the alarmism, but they gradually died off and were replaced by younger people who have never known anything except pleasing their government sponsors with politically correct research results that they expect," Happer adds.

Happer argues that climate is very important to humanity and that is not going to change. Therefore, understanding how climate works is also important. But as climate science has suffered greatly in recent decades due to a manic focus on the demonization of greenhouse gases, things are not that good, for the trend is all based on a lie. "It's dangerous to make a policy on the basis of lies," Happer says.

In the interview, Happer explains that Earth's climate has always been in a state of flux. For instance, the current warming period follows the Little Ice Age, which ended in the 19th century. In other words, climate change is one of Earth's natural processes, and the influence of humans on it should not be exaggerated. The discussion also covers the role of CO2 on Earth, its capacity to warm the climate, the significant costs associated with reducing it in order to go to Net Zero, and whether it is feasible for humans to completely stop using fossil fuels.

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As noted above, Dr. William Happer is a professor emeritus at Princeton University, but his academic career began at Columbia University where he rose to full professorship and served as the director of Columbia Radiation Laboratory. He moved to Princeton in 1980. Renowned for his contributions to atomic physics, optics and climate science, Happer has left a significant mark in both science and policy. Beyond academia, he served as Director of the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1991 to 1993. He was also a long-standing member of JASON, an elite group of scientists advising the U.S. government on defense and national security matters.

Happer has earned numerous prestigious awards over the course of his illustrious career. Among the most notable ones is the Davisson-Germer Prize in Atomic or Surface Physics (1999), bestowed by the American Physical Society, which recognized his exceptional contributions to atomic spectroscopy and optically polarized atoms. In 1997, he received the Herbert P. Broida Prize from the same society, honouring his advancements in optical pumping and spin-polarized atoms – work that has left a lasting impact on modern optics.

Happer's achievements extend beyond academia into practical innovation, as evidenced by the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award (2000) from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. This accolade celebrated his patented inventions that have significantly benefited society. Early in his career, he received the Alexander von Humboldt Award (1976), a prestigious international honor from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, recognizing his lifetime contributions to science. Another early milestone was the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1966), a competitive grant supporting promising young scientists, which underscored his potential shortly after his earning of his Ph.D.

In addition to these awards, Happer's election to the National Academy of Sciences (1996) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1995) reflects his esteemed standing among peers. He has also received the Frederick Seitz Memorial Award (2015) from the Science and Environmental Policy Project for his outspoken views on climate science, though this recognition carries a narrower, more controversial scope.

Happer is recognized for his prominent role in the climate change debate, advocating for evidence-based approaches to environmental policies. He chairs the CO2 Coalition, established in 2015 to educate opinion leaders, policy makers and the public about the vital role carbon dioxide plays in life and the economy. The coalition seeks to foster an informed and dispassionate discussion on climate change, humans' role in the climate system, the limitations of climate models, and the consequences of mandated reductions in CO₂ emissions."