A recent episode of Meet the Press is illustrative of what's wrong with the debate on climate change.
Link. Chuck Todd made some righteous proclamation that he won't tolerate debate on the existence of climate change. Then he asked some scientists and politicians why so many rubes and stupid people still "deny" the phenomenon and what can be done to convince them. Of course, that invited all these people to whine about how terrible it is and how dangerous climate change is - glaciers melting, coastal flooding, etc. Basically, they all just sat around and agreed with each other.
A few things I've noticed about the issue. First, I've been watching shows like this since 1991. I've never seen the phenomenon of climate change (whether the climate is changing) debated on MTP or any comparable show. In the '90s, I saw some who were skeptical about proposed solutions, the severity of the problem, and levels of causation, but that's it. Since Al Gore became a major peddler of climate change alarmismv in the early 2000s, I've never even seen skeptics on any angle given a platform. So Todd's righteous stance is nothing new or unusual. He's basically handling the issue like every liberal mainstream journalist has for about 15 years.
Second, the bed-wetters he brought in aren't very smart. Academically they are, but logically they aren't. The real breakdown on this issue (or why they can't sell the "stupid people") is that for the most part, causation isn't discussed. We hear a lot of correlation - higher CO² levels and severe weather events (which we're not allowed to discuss when they don't support the climate change narrative). We don't hear much evidence actually linking the two. That is presumed rather than supported. When someone doesn't discuss or doesn't want to discuss a significant point, it's usually because that person's position is weak or at least weaker than the person wants you to think it is. And of course affirmatively saying, "we're not going to discuss this" is a sign of weakness, not strength.
Frankly, if Todd really wants to convince people, he shouldn't be licking the climate change alarmists' balls like he does. He should be challenging them. He should be making them explain themselves. When there are potential weak points (and there are many of them), he should bring them up. Pretending they don't exist or that they should be summarily dismissed rather than actually refuted doesn't help. When he's looking for a token Republican, don't bring on Carlos Curbelo. Bring on Ted Cruz. If he's so wrong, discredit him. Shouldn't be hard to do if the evidence is so wildly against him.
Third, we rarely hear about solutions or costs for the public and didn't hear about them on this show. When we hear about carbon taxes, alternative fuels, etc., normal people wonder how that will affect them. That virtually never gets discussed.
The point is that the advocates are trying to win an argument on credentials, ridicule, and bullying rather than on the merits. I'm not saying that they can't win it on the merits. I don't know either way. I'm saying that they're not trying to, and it's hurting their position with people who don't already agree with them.