Pointing out the "97% Abusers"

"If you've ever expressed the least bit of skepticism about calls to rapidly eliminate fossil fuel use to prevent a 'climate crisis,' you’ve probably heard the smug response: '97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is real and human-caused.'
    "This response is inane....
    "The usual purpose of saying '97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is real and human-caused' is to make you believe our climate impact is catastrophic—a 'climate crisis.'
    "But neither the statement itself nor the studies it’s based on say our impact is catastrophic....
    "The '97%'... either agree on some unspecified impact or, at most, attribute rising CO2 levels as the leading cause ... of the mild 1°C warming we have experienced to date.
    "But they are abused to claim 97% agreement on catastrophic climate impact.
    "'97% abuser' John Kerry has falsely equated:

“97% of climate scientists have confirmed that climate change is happening and that human activity is responsible.”

With:

“if we continue to go down the same path…the world as we know it will… change dramatically for the worse.”

    "'97% abuser' Barack Obama, in response to a study that said "97.1% endorsed the consensus position that humans are causing global warming,” tweeted “Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: #climate change is real, man-made and dangerous”—just adding 'dangerous' from nowhere.
    “'97% abuser' Al Gore took a study about papers agreeing with the idea that 'Earth’s climate is being affected by human activities' and misrepresented it to mean 'we’re causing global warming and that it’s a serious problem'—adding 'serious problem' from nowhere....
    "[L]ike many other authors of 'consensus' studies [these 97% Abusers are] clearly motivated by the desire to use insignificant consensus about some climate impact to drive their desired catastrophe narrative and anti-fossil-fuel political outcome....
    "By being coupled with the refrain 'listen to the scientists,' the '97%' claim is designed to make you only look at the climate side-effects of fossil fuels when making policy—ignoring fossil fuels’ benefits....
    "Fossil fuels actually overall make us far safer from climate by providing low-cost energy for the amazing machines that protect us against storms, protect us against extreme temperatures, and alleviate drought. Climate disaster deaths have decreased 98% over the last century... But the '97% consensus' abusers try to avoid the discussion about fossil fuel benefits....
    "Summary: Using '97% of climate scientists agree that climate change is real and human-caused' to argue against fossil fuels is illogical and unscientific. It:

1. Falsely equates some climate impact with catastrophic climate impact
2. Ignores the huge benefits of fossil fuels

    "If someone tries to intimidate you into opposing fossil fuels by saying '97% of climate scientists agree,' trying asking them:

1. What exactly do they agree about—do they agree there’s a 'climate crisis'?
2. Do you agree we should also factor in the benefits of fossil fuels?" 

~ Alex Epstein, from his post 'The myth that "97% of scientists agree' about a climate crisis' [emphases in the original]