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Mayor John Hickenlooper told a crowd of mining industry executives yesterday that he does not believe the “final verdict” is in on climate change, arguing that perhaps global warming is not as “catastrophic” as some may believe.

Speaking via telephone from snowy Washington, D.C., where the Democratic gubernatorial candidate had missed his flight back to Denver because of blizzard-like conditions, Hickenlooper responded to questions from conservative mining industry executives at the National Western Mining Conference & Exhibition, which is wrapping up today in Denver. 

Having recently attended international climate change discussions in Copenhagen, the mayor was questioned by mining industry executives on his stance on global warming, including a quip about whether the mayor continues to believe in global warming in light of his travel dilemma in snowy Washington.

“I don’t think that the scientific community has decided with certainty that climate change is as catastrophic as so many people think,” said Hickenlooper, a former geologist in the energy industry. 

He likened the discussion over climate change to when the scientific community as a whole turned on the issue of plate tectonics in the 1960s.

“Suddenly what was the standard accepted dogma of the field, was suddenly discredited,” he said. “So, my thinking with climate change is I can’t tell you, I don’t think anyone can tell you for sure if the climate is changing that fast, and certainly, in a snow storm like this, you have to look at it with a little bit of skepticism.”

As the Mayor of Denver, Hickenlooper has been hailed a hero by environmentalists for actions taken by his administration to green the city. He launched a program called Greenprint Denver, which focuses on improving the environment of the city. Part of the program included switching the majority of the city’s fleet of official vehicles to hybrid-electric vehicles, known as the Green Fleet.

And when planning for the Democratic National Convention in 2008, Hickenlooper vowed to make it the “greenest” political convention ever.

The mayor added, however, that despite skepticism of global warming, cities should still take steps to ensure that they don’t dramatically add to the world’s carbon footprint. He said all green investments should be viewed through the lens of how the moves can result in a cost benefit in five years or less. 

Hickenlooper’s likely Republican opponent is former Congressman Scott McInnis, who spoke at the mining conference on Tuesday where he bashed the mayor for not coming out against new rules and regulations on the state’s oil and gas industry, as well as not taking a stance on a series of proposals to eliminate certain tax breaks enjoyed by the Colorado business community.

Hickenlooper acknowledged that McInnis took a few “kicks at me,” during his speech, but said he wanted to take a different, more bipartisan approach.

“I’d like to take a different approach and kind of lay out a positive agenda,” said Hickenlooper, who added that he plans to unveil more details in the coming days. But he stressed that the focus of his campaign, and if elected governor, will be to bring an end to partisan bickering and bring sides together. 

He pointed out that his strong background in the business community as a former brewpub owner will assist him to bring sides together and advance decisive issues. He said his opponent does not know that approach, having been a congressman and a lobbyist.

“How can we get government out of the way?” asked Hickenlooper. “And Congressman McInnis spent a number of years Ń the majority of his professional life Ń within Congress, and since then he has been a lobbyist for a number of large companies trying to get things through Congress. I’m not sure that’s the right experience if you’re really trying to figure out how to make a more efficient government and reduce the red tape.”

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