Ron Johnson Calls Climate Change ‘Beneficial,’ Says It’s Only a Problem ‘If You’re in a Hot Region of Africa’

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) questioned an energy policy expert on Wednesday during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the healthcare costs related to climate change and argued that the U.S. – his home state of Wisconsin in particular – will be better off as a result of global warming. Johnson concluded his remarkable comments, which quickly went viral online, by dismissing the risks other areas of the globe, like Africa, would face due to climate change.

“In terms of excess deaths, a warming globe’s actually beneficial. In my own state your study shows that we’d have a reduction in mortality of somewhere between 54 and 56 people per, I guess, a hundred thousand. Why wouldn’t we take comfort in that?” Johnson asked University of Chicago economics professor Michael Greenstone.

“So thanks for the question Sen. Johnson and what the work shows in the chart is that the effects of climate change are going to be very unequal and, absolutely, Wisconsin, Chicago, where I live, the reduction in cold days, the benefits from that will outweigh the damages from the hot days,” Greenstone politely replied.

“But if you look more carefully at that, there’s large swatches of the country where the damages will be much larger. And in fact, they get,” Greenstone continued as Johnson cut him off.

“But again, if you want to balance, if you want to balance it all out globally if you’re trying to mitigate harm globally. Isn’t it true that the number of deaths, according to this Lancet study, the number of deaths caused by heat are 600,000 per year. Deaths caused by cold are 4.5 million annually. So in terms of global health in terms of excess death, we’re actually in a better position to prevent death by having the climate increase in temperature a little bit,” Johnson said.

“Senator, I’m not familiar with that study. What I am familiar with is my study. Your characterization of it is incorrect,” Greenstone shot back.

“Well, your study is very favorable to my state,” Johnson replied.

“Wisconsin will benefit in terms of mortality. There are 49 other states in the United States, many of them will suffer. Many of them will suffer more than Wisconsin will gain. And that is the nature of climate change. It’s very unequal,” Greenstone clarified as Johnson jumped in again:

According, to your study, [there’s] concern if you’re in the really hot region of Africa. But in terms of United States and most of Europe, we’re in pretty good shape. We’re all blue. We have reduced risk of death.

Watch the full clip above and the full hearing here.

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