Him, too. These people exist on contracts, grants and funding. The best way to get it is to give somebody with money what they want.
It doesn’t have to be real things like “fixing global warming”; it just has to be a good enough of a scare to imposes rules and taxes that fit the benefactor’s real goals - money and power.
“These people exist on contracts, grants and funding.”
They don’t just ‘exist’. They travel the world and enjoy their lives on the taxpayer’s dime, while acting more like celebrities than scientists. It’s unfortunately not uncommon.