Evangelical global-warming skeptics hire lobbyist

Evangelical global-warming skeptics hire lobbyist

WASHINGTON — As Congress debates clean-energy legislation, a conservative Christian group is ramping up lobbying efforts to raise questions about the science of climate change.

The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation Committee recently hired Shannon Royce, a 25-year veteran of conservative organizations including the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, as executive director.

Royce’s new employer formed in 2005 to counter a rising chorus of evangelical voices calling Christians to action on climate change. Contrary to pro-environmental groups like the Evangelical Climate Initiative, the Cornwall Alliance supports stewardship of the earth but says many environmental concerns are overblown.

“Environmental stewardship and care for the poor are deeply biblical issues, but secular environmentalism has increasingly set its sights on limiting development and reducing human population,” she said in a press release.

“Now, at a time when American families are struggling to make ends meet, Washington is considering a host of ill-advised measures that would make prices for energy, food and other essential needs skyrocket.”

“Climate change alarmists want to prevent economic growth here and around the world,” she said. “But the view that people are the problem — that they are polluters rather than producers — is unbiblical.”