Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a nonprofit public policy organization established in 1984, focused on advocating for free enterprise and limited government intervention. CEI posits that individuals thrive best in a marketplace free from government control, emphasizing the importance of property rights and economic freedom. The organization operates without government funding, relying instead on sponsorship from major corporations such as Exxon Mobil and Pfizer. CEI is known for its controversial stance on climate change, denying the scientific consensus that links greenhouse gas emissions to global warming and opposing government regulations intended to mitigate climate impacts. The institute has actively challenged climate agreements like the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Climate Treaty, arguing that the economic repercussions of climate policies would outweigh the benefits. CEI promotes an alternative view of carbon dioxide as beneficial rather than harmful, and it has utilized media campaigns to disseminate its viewpoints. The organization also engages in legal action to support its positions, positioning itself as a significant player in the ongoing debate over environmental policy and regulation.
Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)
DATE: Established 1984
Mission
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a nonprofit public policy organization that promotes the principles of free enterprise and limited government. The institute contends that individuals are best served free of government intervention, allowing for unfettered progress through a free marketplace. It accepts no government funding; among its principal sponsors are Amoco, Exxon Mobil, Texaco, the Ford Motor Company, Phillip Morris Companies, and the Pfizer drug company.
CEI describes itself as a think tank and an advocacy organization. While it contends its policy positions are science-based, it disputes all evidence pointing to as the driving force behind global warming. Consistent with the CEI philosophy, the institute opposes vehicle fuel efficiency standards and calls for the elimination of the Superfund—using property rights as an argument against government regulation. Notably, CEI was part of the advisory board of the Heritage Foundation's right-wing political action group Project 2025, which planned to advance conservative causes following the victory of President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Significance for Climate Change
CEI opposes any government action that would mitigate global warming, including mandated limits on GHGs. Consistent with this stand, it supports constitutional challenges that would impede the government’s ability to intrude on corporate polluters. In an effort to garner public support, in 2006 CEI ran television ads trivializing the effects of climate change with the line: “Carbon dioxide: They call it pollution; we call it life.” It insists that pollution-generated global warming is a scientific fallacy and embraces carbon dioxide as “a life-giving force” rather than a noxious waste. Consistent with its postilion, which denies the connection between GHGs and climate change, CEI participated in the opposition to the 1997 international global warming negotiations in Kyoto, insisting that global warming is a “theory not a fact.” CEI took a similar stance against the 2017 Paris Climate Treaty, arguing a legal and economic case against the climate change framework. A document entitled "Global Warming FAQ" on the CEI website maintained there is no scientific consensus that global warming is bad for humanity and pointed to examples of what they believe are specific scare tactics used by the media, governments, and some scientists. The CEI continues to argue the economic consequences of climate change mitigation are more detrimental to individuals than climate change itself.
Unlike many academic think tanks, CEI aggressively enforces its positions through the courts. It argues that climate change would create a “milder, greener, more prosperous world.” A quote taken from the CEI Web site best illustrates the organization’s philosophy and potential impact on climate change.
Although global warming has been described as the greatest threat facing mankind, the policies designed to address global warming actually pose a greater threat. Luckily, predictions of the extent of future warming are based on implausible scientific and economic assumptions, and the negative impacts of predicted warming have been vastly exaggerated. In the unlikely event that global warming turns out to be a problem, the correct approach is not energy rationing, but rather long-term technological transformation and building resiliency in societies by increasing wealth. CEI has been a leader in the fight against the global warming scare.
Bibliography
"Experience Our History." Competitive Enterprise Institute, 2024, cei.org/about/history/. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
"Project 2025 Reaches 100 Coalition partners, Continues to Grow in Preparation for Next President." Heritage.org, 20 Feb. 2024, www.heritage.org/press/project-2025-reaches-100-coalition-partners-continues-grow-preparation-next-president. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.