Open in TheBrain

Climate Exit clexit

---

bsically a petition?

ggl 4 26

Willie Soon is a prominent climate change skeptic and a founding member of the Climate Exit (Clexit) group, which was formed shortly after the UK's vote to leave the EU.

Key Aspects of Willie Soon and Clexit:

Wikipedia +3

---

4 26

clexit

Background

Climate Exit (Clexit) is a climate science denial group formed shortly after the UK’s decision to leave the EU. According to Clexit’s founding statement (PDF), “The world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade. Man does not and cannot control the climate.”1

As DeSmog2 and Climate Home reported, many of the UK‘s leading “Leave” campaigners also have a history of promoting climate science denial.3

Viv Forbes, an Australian climate science denier and a director of Stanmore Coal, serves as secretary of Clexit. Other notable climate science deniers serving on the “Clexit Committee” include Christopher Monckton (President) and Marc Morano (Vice President).

Introducing Clexit’s founding statement, Forbes announced that the enforcement of the Paris climate treaty would be “a global tragedy”:

“For the EU and the rest of the Western world, ratification and enforcement of the Paris Treaty (and all the other associated decrees and Agendas) would herald the end of low-cost hydrocarbon transport and electricity, and the exit of their manufacturing, processing and refining industries to countries with low-cost energy,” Forbes said. “Carbon dioxide does not control the climate. It is an essential plant food and more carbon dioxide will produce more plant growth and a greener globe.”4

As DeSmog reports, another key member of Clexit’s “60 well-informed science, business and economic leaders” is Hugh Morgan, a former board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia5 and former CEO of Western Mining Corporation with close ties to Australia’s Liberal party.6

According to Clive Hamilton’s book Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change, Hugh Morgan was a central industry figure in building opposition to climate action within the Liberal Party in the 1990s and early 2000s. Morgan was also the president of the Lavoisier Group, an organisation that fought against ratification of a previous UN climate agreement, the Kyoto Protocol.7

Clexit Founding Statement

Below are some additional excerpts from the Clexit founding statement (view the entire .pdf document here):8

“If the Paris climate accord is ratified, or enforced locally by compliant governments, it will strangle the leading economies of the world with pointless carbon taxes and costly climate and energy policies, all with no sound basis in evidence or science […]”

“The EU is a driving force promoting green energy, environmental extremism, world carbon taxes and global control by unelected bureaucrats. Brexit was Britain’s answer to the growing over-reach of EU bureaucracies. Clexit is our answer to the push for global control through climate hysteria. […]

“This vicious and relentless war on carbon dioxide will be seen by future generations as the most misguided mass delusion that the world has ever seen. Carbon dioxide is NOT a dangerous pollutant – it is a natural, non-toxic and beneficial gas which feeds all life on earth. Its increasing concentration is improving the environment, not harming it. Carbon dioxide is also an insignificant player in global warming. Its so-called ‘greenhouse effect’ is far smaller than that of atmospheric water vapour and, because this effect declines logarithmically as carbon dioxide levels rise, most of its small impact on surface temperature is already exhausted.”

“The Clexit Campaign aims to prevent ratification or local enforcement of the UN climate treaty. Nations should not tolerate UN and EU bureaucrats manipulating science in order to justify their dreams to redistribute wealth and revert to the central planning that enslaved and impoverished the old command economies […]”

“Global warming has occurred naturally many times in the past and is not to be feared – it is not controlled by carbon dioxide or humans […]”

Stance on Climate Change

“Global warming has occurred naturally many times in the past and is not to be feared – it is not controlled by carbon dioxide or humans […]”9

Funding

As Clexit is not a registered non-profit organisation, no public funding records are available. Additional information will be posted here as it becomes available.

Key People

Two people are listed on Clexit’s “About/Join” page:10

The following people were listed on Clexit’s initial “Members” document (PDF):11

Clexit Committee

table long listsome lnx

The following people were listed on Clexit’s initial “Members” document (PDF):11

Clexit Committee

Name201612201713Description
Albrecht GlatzleYY
Bernard BeauzamyY
Bienvenido “Nonoy” Oplas, JrYSE Asia
Bryan LeylandYY
Christopher MoncktonYYPresident
Hans LabohmY
István E. MarkóY
Jens Morten HansenYDenmark
Leonello ServaYItaly
Marc MoranoYYVice President
Mark DuchampYY
Nils-Axel MörnerY
Ole HumlumYY
Philip LloydY
Pierre L. GosselinY
Roger TattersallY
Shigenori MaruyamaY
Steve MilloyY
Tim BallYY
Václav KlausYY
Víctor Manuel Velasco HerreraY
Viv ForbesYY
Will HapperYY
Willie SoonY

Founding Members

Name201614201715
Alan ClagueYY
Alan MoranYY
Anne RochetYY
Anthony R. LupoYY
Bernard BeauzamyY
Bernard RochetYY
Bill LindqvistYY
Craig IdsoYY
David ArchibaldYY
David EvansYY
Dennis MitchellY
Dieter AmelingYY
Don EasterbrookYY
Frank EndresYY
Geoff DerrickYY
Geoff DuffyYY
George Devries KleinYY
Gerrit J. van der LingenYY
Gordon J. FulksYY
Guy LeBlanc SmithYY
Hans LabohmY
Helmut BöttigerYY
Howard C HaydenYY
Hugh MorganYY
Ian PlimerYY
István E. MarkóY
Jay LehrYY
Joanne NovaYY
John StoneYY
Kesten C. GreenYY
Klaus L.E. KaiserYY
Klaus-Jürgen GoldmannYY
Kyoji KimotoY
Lubos MotlYY
Madhav KhandekarYY
Michael LimburgYY
Nils-Axel MörnerY
Patrick MooreYY
Paul DriessenYY
Paul HomewoodYY
Peter EllisYY
Randall BellYY
Reg BrownellYY
Scott ArmstrongY
Sebastian LueningYY
Shigenori MaruyamaY
Steve GorehamYY
Víctor Manuel Velasco HerreraY
W.C. “Rusty” RieseYY
Weston AllenYY
Wibjörn KarlénYY
Willie SoonY
Wolfgang Peter ThüneYY
Aziz I AdamY
Habibullo AbdussamatovY
Arundeep AhluwaliaY
Tim AllenY
Charles AndersonY
J Scott ArmstrongY
Ron ArnoldY
Sture AstromY
Franck A AudemardY
Franco BattagliaY
Charles BarnesY
Peter BenkendorffY
Stein BergsmarkY
Edwin X BerryY
Guus BerkhoutY
Peter BloemersY
Dominic BootY
Pierre BouteilleY
Howard Thomas BradyY
Terence CardwellY
Alan CarlinY
Andrew ChapmanY
Uberto CrescentiY
Howard CrozierY
Peter CunninghamY
Michael DarbyY
Steve DavisonY
Anne DebeilY
Lars MyrenY
Helen W DehnY
Paul DeversonY
Harold H. DoironY
Aert DriessenY
John DrozY
John Dale DunnY
Helen DyerY
Rod EatonY
Ole Henrik EllestadY
Jerry EllisY
Per-Olof ErikssonY
Robert W FelixY
Edward Patrick FlahertyY
Tim FlorinY
Richard C. Forrester IIIY
Hugh FrenchY
Martin P. FrickeY
Ross GarlingY
François GauchenotY
Francois GervaisY
Paul GoardY
Leo W. S. de GraaffY
Giovanni GregoriY
Kees de GrootY
Peter HarrisY
John HappsY
Michael HartY
Olof HellstromY
Martin HertzbergY
John HeughY
Tony HopeY
Ed HoskinsY
Hans JelbringY
Bryce W. JohnsonY
Claes JohnsonY
Jyrki KauppinenY
Hugh KendrickY
William (Bill) KininmonthY
Johnny KronvallY
Johannes KrugerY
Olav Martin KvalheimY
Keith LaingY
Cornelis A. (Kees) de LangeY
Lubert LegerY
Pieter LukkesY
Franco MaranzanaY
Val MartinY
Dennis MitchelY
Des MooreY
Phil MortimerY
Jamal MunshiY
Daniel W NebertY
John NicholY
Niichi NishiwakiY
Ingemar NordinY
Robert J. NovakY
Yuki Tsuruta OikeY
Cliff OllierY
Jane M. OrientY
C. (Kees) le PairY
Albert ParkerY
Gösta PetterssonY
Herman A. (Alex) PopeY
Alistair PopeY
Willem PostY
Harry N.A. PriemY
John ReidY
Ken RingY
Dave RittenhouseY
Malcolm RobertsY
James H. RustY
Tom V. SegalstadY
Thomas P.(Tom) SheahenY
Rabbe SjobergY
Jan-Erik SolheimY
Walter StarckY
Leighton StewardY
Kjell StordahlY
Pat SwordsY
Tom TantonY
Dirk ThoenesY
Arve TunstadY
Fred UdoY
Arthur ViteritoY
Michael WargoY
Steve WelcenbachY
David WhiteheadY
Ken WilliamsY
Michael M. WilliamsonY
Lawrence WilsonY
David WojickY
Mike WortY
Tom WysmullerY

Regional Directors (2017) 16

NameDescription
Albrecht Glatzle
Bernard Beauzamy
Bienvenido “Nonoy” Oplas, JrSE Asia
Bryan Leyland
Geir AaslidNorway
Hans Labohm
István E. Markó
Jens Morten HansenDenmark
Leonello ServaItaly
Mark Duchamp
Nils-Axel Mörner
Philip LloydAfrica
Pierre L. GosselinGermany
Shigenori Maruyama
Steve MilloyUSA
Tim Ball
Víctor Manuel Velasco Herrera

Actions

Actions

May–June, 2017

CLEXIT members made multiple pleas to President Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, shortly before Trump’s official decision to withraw which he announced on June 1, 2017.17

On May 18, Viv Forbes, Secretary of the “Clexit Coalition,” warned that nations would suffer from “destructive energy policies.” In the article, titled “Kill the Paris Treaty and Rip Put the Roots” statements were put forward by a range of climate science deniers at CLEXIT.18

Will Happer:

“Americans never felt compelled to sign up to international folly in the past. I hope the United States once again shows the common sense of its people and walks away from the Paris Agreement.”

Willie Soon:

“There is no free energy in the real world. All world leaders, not only President Trump, should stop promoting the empty game of energy poverty and deaths.”

Tim Ball:

“President Trump knows he must keep the promises made at his public rallies. For example, he made the commitment to get out of Paris in his Harrisburg Pennsylvania speech […]”

Viv Forbes:

“There is no justification for the War on carbon dioxide – CO2 does not drive global temperature and Earth’s climate cannot be tweaked by erecting windmills or putting taxes on carbon dioxide. CO2 is naturally sequestered by oceans and the biosphere. Burning natural hydrocarbons merely recycles Earth’s carbonaceous nutrients vital to all life – already world food production and global forests have benefitted from the small increases in carbon dioxide plant food in Earth’s atmosphere.”

Clexit also featured an article by Will Happer, originally published in The Washington Times,where he argues “The Case for Nixing the Paris Agreement.” According to Happer, “[…] more CO2 is not a pollutant but is a benefit to humanity. The ‘social cost of carbon,’ aka CO2, is negative. It is immoral to prevent developing countries from using reliable, inexpensive fossil fuels to escape centuries of poverty.”19 ^20

August 2, 2016

Viv Forbes promoted the new Clexit Campaign at Canada Free Press, announcing that “The Paris Climate Treaty should be torn up.” His full statement below:21

The “CLEXIT” Campaign (CLimate Exit) which originated in Australia was inspired by the Brexit decision of the British people to withdraw from the increasingly dictatorial EU bureaucracy. Clexit is spreading world-wide (16 countries already).

Clexit aims to prevent ratification of the costly and dangerous Paris global warming treaty which is being promoted by the EU/UN and their green army.

This war on hydro-carbon energy has already caused massive losses to western industry. If allowed to continue as envisaged by the Paris Treaty, economic depression will follow and all nations will suffer.

We must stop this futile waste of community savings; cease the destruction and dislocation of human industry; stop killing rare bats and birds with wind turbine blades and solar/thermal sizzlers; stop pelletising trees to feed power stations designed to burn coal; stop converting food to motor vehicle fuel; and stop the clearing of bush and forests for biofuel cultivation and plantations.

The Paris Climate Treaty should be torn up!

Carbon dioxide does not control the climate. It is an essential plant food and more carbon dioxide will produce more plant growth and a greener globe.

July 7, 2016

According to WHOIS records, Viv Forbes registered Clexit.net on July 7, 2016. The group’s first post, their summary statement, is dated August 1, 2016.22

Other Resources

Resources

“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Kyla Mandel. “Mapped: The Cosy Climate-Euro Sceptic Bubble Pushing for Brexit and Less Climate Action,” DeSmog, June 13, 2016.

“Meet the climate sceptics backing the Brexit campaign,” Climate Home, June 13, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8FB1t

“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Graham Readfearn. “After Brexit, Climate Science Denialists Form New Group to Call for a Clexit,” Desmog, August 3, 2016.

“Hugh Morgan AO,” Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived February 22, 2002. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/1ObOB

Graham Readfearn. “After Brexit, Climate Science Denialists Form New Group to Call for a Clexit,” Desmog, August 3, 2016.

“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

“About/Join,” CLEXIT.Archived November 25, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ZTPTv

“The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

“The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

“Clexit now comprises 190 members from 26 counties” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

“Clexit now comprises 190 members from 26 counties” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

Sharon Kelly. “Trump Abandons Paris Climate Deal At Bidding of Fossil Fuel Interests,” DeSmog, June 1, 2017.

“Kill the Paris Treaty and Rip Out the Roots,” Clexit.net, May 18, 2017. Archived June 8, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/s1TPI

Will Happer. “The Case for Nixing the Paris Agreement,” Clexit. May 25, 2017. Archived June 8, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/xk1F7

Will Happer. “The Case for Nixing the Paris Agreement,” The Washington Times, May 23, 2017. Archived June 7, 2017. Archive.is URL:https://archive.is/awXeu

Viv Forbes. “Clexit Creeps Closer,” Canada Free Press, August 2, 2016. Archived August 4, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/psyZf

“Whois Record for ClExit.net,” Wdomaintools.com. Accessed August 4, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

---

Willie Soon is regularly cited by political groups that oppose climate change legislation.

(B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph. D.) ... Scientific career. ... Soon is an anthropogenic climate change denier, disputing the scientific underst...

Wikipedia

May 22, 2017 — Background. ... Willie Soon earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in science from the University of Southern California. In 1...

DeSmog

Background. Climate Exit (Clexit) is a climate science denial group formed shortly after the UK's decision to leave the EU. Accord...

DeSmog

Affiliations * Kesten Green, Willie Soon — Co-authored studies on climate change, and testified before congress on the subject of ...

DeSmog

Key Quotes. ... He also said: “I feel bad about the younger generation. They have been brainwashed. The people who think this is a...

DeSmog

---

ggl 4 26

[### Uncharitable Think Tanks

Florida International University

https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu › cgi › viewcontent](https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1743&context=lawreview)

PDF

by F Stevelman · 2025 · Cited by 1 — 328 Soon was also a founding member of Climate Exit, a group urging that the “world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade.”329.Read more

[### EU Climate Action

Facebook · EU Climate Action

370+ reactions · 2 months ago](https://www.facebook.com/EUClimateAction/posts/climate-change-is-complex-and-that-complexity-is-often-exploited-selective-data-/1206849764951504/)

... Climate Exit (CLEXIT)”; “Climate Gate”, “Climate Intelligence ... Arctic Ice — Cherry-Picked Baseline: Soon, Willie & Baliunas, Sallie ...Read more

[### The Cold Truth on Global Warming

CLEXIT

https://clexit.net › 2024/03/25 › the-cold-truth-on-global...](https://clexit.net/2024/03/25/the-cold-truth-on-global-warming/)

Mar 25, 2024 — Patrick Moore. Prof Will Happer. Dr Roy Spencer. Prof John Christie. Dr Willie Soon ... CLEXIT – Climate Exit Proudly powered by WordPress.Read more

[### The United Kingdom's broadcasting regulator Ofcom will ...

Facebook · Down to Earth

1 reaction · 2 weeks ago](https://www.facebook.com/down2earthindia/posts/the-united-kingdoms-broadcasting-regulator-ofcom-will-investigate-complaints-of-/1416625640506166/)

The deadline for responding to the FoI request is nearing so we may soon have the clarity we deserve. ... Climate Exit (CLEXIT)”; “Climate Gate”, ...Read more

[### Climate Exit (Clexit)

DeSmog

https://www.desmog.com › Database Entries](https://www.desmog.com/clexit/)

Climate Exit (Clexit) is a climate science denial group formed shortly after ... Willie Soon: “There is no free energy in the real world. All world ...Read more

[### Comments - A Diesel in the Shed

Substack

https://jennifermarohasy.substack.com › comments](https://jennifermarohasy.substack.com/p/a-diesel-in-the-shed/comments)

was general secretary of the Clexit Society (as in Climate exit after Brexit). ... Willie Soon & Professors from many countries including Russia & Japan are ...

[### Kill the Paris Treaty and Rip Out the Roots

CLEXIT

https://clexit.net › 2017/05/18 › kill-paris-treaty](https://clexit.net/2017/05/18/kill-paris-treaty/)

May 18, 2017 — Dr Willie Soon of Clexit USA, an astro-physicist and climate author, added: “There ... CLEXIT – Climate Exit Proudly powered by WordPress.Read more

[### Heroes and Villains BLEU255

https://villains.bleu255.com](https://villains.bleu255.com/)

png]] <<if $met_soon == false>> <q>Dear $costume, can I ask you for your support to Clexit for a Climate Exit, out of the Paris agreement. ... Willie Soon.Read more

[### Dr Willie Soon

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com › LordMonckton › posts › t...](https://www.facebook.com/LordMonckton/posts/the-blatant-attempt-to-silence-scientists-with-independent-views-on-global-warmi/10152569798171467/)

Theresa May should follow suit and add CLEXIT (Climate exit) to BREXIT. CFACT 󱢏. Jun 1, 2017󰞋󱟠. It's official! The U.S. is pulling out of the UN Paris ...

---

uncharitable 2025

...President Trump to withdraw from the Paris Accord.328 Soon was also a

founding member of Climate Exit, a group urging that the “world must

abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade.”329

The DOTTs had a principal role in supporting Dr. Soon’s public career.

Soon held the position of senior scientist at the Marshall Institute.330

Heartland’s website lists Dr. Soon, still, as a policy advisor.331 Soon regularly

spoke at Heartland’s annual contrarian conferences, including in 2019, 2018,

:{:{2017, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2009, and 2008.332}:

In a co-authored op-ed in the}:

Wall Street Journal, Soon referred to himself as the chief science researcher

at the Center for Science and Public Policy.333 The latter think tank’s

webpage still lists Dr. Soon as its chief science advisor.334 In 2016, Dr. Soon

spoke at an energy conference sponsored by Heritage and TPPF, which they

billed as the “premier energy and climate policy event in America.”335 In

2020, Soon appeared in C-FACT’s documentary, Climate Hustle 2: Rise of

:{:{the Climate Monarchy.336}:

In 2018, in California climate litigation, Dr. Soon}:

served as the climate science expert in an amicus brief filed by Heartland to

give the court a “climate tutorial.”337 Dr. Soon contributed to the Institute for

notes

328 See Petition, Lindzen Attachment (Feb. 23, 2017), https://www.desmog.com/wp-

content/uploads/files/Climate%20denier%20Paris%20withdrawal%20petition.pdf

[https://perma.cc/3TEB-VH8V] (claiming it had 300 eminent scientist signatories, but upon inspection,

that assertion was largely bogus).

329 After Brexit, Clexit, CLEXIT.NET (Aug. 1, 2016),

https://web.archive.org/web/20160804173707/http://clexit.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/clexit.pdf

[https://perma.cc/33BZ-MWUM] (“If the Paris climate accord is ratified, or enforced locally by compliant

governments, it will strangle the leading economies of the world with pointless carbon taxes and costly

climate and energy policies, all with no sound basis in evidence or science.”); see also CLEXIT.NET, LIST

OF CLEXIT MEMBERS, http://clexit.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/clexit-members.pdf.

330 Willie Soon, INDEP. INST., https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=4035

[https://perma.cc/T3AB-5M5P].

331 Willie Soon, HEARTLAND INST., https://heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/willie-soon/

[https://perma.cc/CS4M-KVZ...

2025] Uncharitable Think Tanks 225

Public Affair’s book, Climate Change: The Facts 2017.338 Despite its claim

to being authoritative, the book included only contrarians’ writings.339 In

2016, Dr. Soon participated in Freedom Force International’s 3rd Congress,

:{:{titled Global-Warming: An Inconvenient Lie.340}:

Also in 2016, he was the}:

opening presenter at a three-day conference sponsored by Doctors for

Disaster Preparedness, an affiliate of the Oregon Institute for Science and

:{:{Medicine.341}:

---