Fundamentally, climate change deniers refuse to accept the conclusions of the vast amounts of data gathered over many years by thousands of climatologists representing dozens of academic institutions, government agencies, and private sector interests from many nations — data suggesting a causal relationship between global warming and manmade activities. Their reasons for denial are purely of a political nature, but since they don’t accept the conclusions, they must also deny the veracity of the data for no other reason than it conflicts with their denials.

The fossil fuel industries that are financing the “climate change denial campaign” share the same unethical “profit at all costs” philosophy that has dominated the decision-making process of the tobacco industry as it repeatedly denied any health-related consequences of using their products.

In other words, climate change denial is a conclusion in search of a rationalization.