Reason Public Policy Institute
The Reason Public Policy Institute (RPPI) is a research organization that focuses on applying market-based principles to various policy issues, particularly in the context of global warming. It operates as the research division of the Reason Foundation and is known for producing original research across a range of topics, including the environment, education, transportation, and privatization. The Institute supports a political philosophy emphasizing rule of law, economic liberty, personal responsibility, and innovation.
RPPI is often labeled as a skeptical organization in relation to climate change, challenging the mainstream consensus on the anthropogenic causes of global warming. It argues that policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions might have minimal positive effects on climate while potentially harming economic growth and individual freedoms. The organization's funding has historically come from various corporations, including energy and transportation companies.
Although RPPI has shifted its branding since 2005, its research continues to influence debates surrounding environmental policies and climate change. It has produced several publications and critiques regarding climate assessments, reflecting its ongoing engagement in discussions about the implications of environmental regulations on society and the economy.
Reason Public Policy Institute
- DATE: Established 1976
Mission
The Reason Public Policy Institute works to apply marketplace principles to the issue of global warming, arguing against environmental regulations that might harm business. Many websites identify the Reason Public Policy Institute (RPPI) as a global warming skeptic organization funded by ExxonMobil, but it is much more than that. RPPI, the research division of the Reason Foundation, generates original research on issues including the environment, education, infrastructure, transportation, urban land use, local economic development, social services, privatization, and government reform.
According to a description in several RPPI reports, the Institute
brings a political philosophy that supports rule of law, marketplace competition, economic and civil liberty, personal responsibility in social and economic interactions, and institutional arrangements that foster dynamism and innovation.
The Reason Foundation has been funded largely by corporations affected by these issues, including ExxonMobil, the Western States Petroleum Association, Shell Oil, the Edison Electric Institute, DaimlerChrysler, the Ford Motor Company, and other energy and transportation companies, as well as Microsoft, Bayer, Bank of America, and others.
RPPI research supports the views that causes are minimally responsible for global warming and argues against regulations proposed to combat global warming—especially those aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The 2001 report Q and A About Forests and Global Climate Change summarizes the organization’s positions:
Despite many remaining uncertainties in scientific understanding of climate change, most initiatives propose to slow or stop the buildup of greenhouse gases by reducing fossil fuel use. Such policy options are likely to have little positive impact on climate, but could result in negative impacts on energy production, national economies, and personal autonomy.
Significance for Climate Change
While the Reason Foundation continues to operate and to publish Reason magazine and research reports, documents issued after about 2005 have not carried the RPPI logo, and inquiries to the RPPI website are automatically redirected to the Reason Foundation’s site. The Reason Foundation continues to work on climate and environmental issues. For some years, Kenneth Green was director of the environmental program. Among his peer-reviewed studies published by RPPI are A Plain English Guide to the Science of Climate Change, Climate Change Policy Options and Impacts, Evaluating the Kyoto Approach to Climate Change, and A Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Questions People Ask About the Science of Climate Change. In 2004, RPPI published reports and op-eds challenging the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report from the Arctic Council. Some time after 2005, ExxonMobil stopped supporting RPPI and other public policy think tanks, stating that these organizations had become a “distraction” from the real work of finding solutions. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, the Reason Foundation amended its stance on global climate change.
In 2016, the organization stated that human emissions of greenhouse gases were likely warming the planet. It also acknowledged that these changes had the potential to cause harm for some of the population. However, the Reason Foundation alleged that in some areas, warming above preindustrial levels could benefit humanity. The organization also alleged that the effects of global climate change will be less severe than mainstream scientific predictions.
"Reason Foundation." DeSmog, www.desmog.com/reason-foundation/. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
"Reason Foundation." Reason Foundation, 2024, reason.org/. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.