Republican presidential candidate and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) compared the data about climate change to Enron’s accounting practices of “cooking the books” in a speech to prominent conservative donors in California on Sunday.
Cruz told a crowd of 450 donors from a network organized by billionaires Charles and David Koch in Orange County, Calif., that there was no factual basis for global warming and climate change, TIME reported.
“They’re cooking the books. They’re actually adjusting the numbers,” Cruz said, adding that scientists were reverse engineering their data. “Enron used to do their books the same way.”
The Texas-based energy company Enron went bankrupt in 2001 after their accountants used financial loopholes to hide billions of dollars in failed deals and debt. It was one of the largest bankruptcies in American history.
He said four decades ago scientists said a “global cooling” was happening.
“If you look at satellite data for the last 18 years, there’s been zero recorded warming,” Cruz said. “The satellite says it ain’t happening.”
Cruz’s comments come as President Barack Obama announced a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from America’s power stations by nearly a third within 15 years.
“This is not a problem for another generation. Not anymore,” Obama said.
