>Steven E. Koonin is a theoretical physicist, professor, former Chief Scientist for the BP petroleum company, and former Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy under the Obama administration. He's also the author of "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters."
I'm not sure "former Chief Scientist for the BP petroleum company" is the person I would go to for "a balanced take" on climate change.
That said, I do think it's a valuable contrarian perspective, and if you haven't heard the steel-manned version of the climate change "skeptic" argument, it's absolutely worth listening to just to add some nuance to your existing views even if it doesn't necessarily change them. There are some really legitimate, strong criticisms that he raises in the episode that I personally plan on doing more research on.
(also: he was Chief Scientist in BP with their alternative and renewable energy strategy)
The IPCC is funded and promoted by the UN because their conclusions align with the UN's agenda. It's very hard to distinguish the legitimate environmental concerns from political and ideological ulterior motivations.
I mean, the world itself will be fine. On the other hand, 11,000 years ago half of the UK was under a permement ice sheet. If we end up at a similar extreme to 11,000 years ago compared to now (probably in the other direction) large amounts of the world will become uninhabitable.
But it doesn’t mean he’s right or that his “balanced” view is actually balanced of what is likely to happen.