CNBC sought someone to write about “global warming being a hoax” in order to counter a major new report that shows the economic cost of failing to take climate action.

As Republic Report first reported, the cable business channel CNBC reached out to DeSmogBlog, a website that rebuts climate change denial, to ask Alan Carlin, an economist who denies that the majority of recent warming is man-made, to write about “global warming being a hoax.” (CNBC apparently mistakenly assumed that Carlin worked with DeSmogBlog because they had profiled him.) Media Matters has confirmed that Cindy Perman, the commentary editor of CNBC.com, sent the following message to DeSmogBlog:

Hi there. Given this new report on the cost of climate change, wanted to extend an invitation to Alan Carlin to write an op-ed for CNBC.com. Can be on the new report or just his general thoughts on global warming being a hoax.

As Media Matters has documented, the majority of CNBC's climate change coverage in 2013 falsely suggested that climate change is not occurring or that it is not mostly man-made, even though 97 percent of climate scientists say it is.

The new report that CNBC referred to in its message to DeSmogBlog is by the Risky Business Project, which found that on the planet's current path, as much as $507 billion worth of coastal properties will be underwater by 2100. Increasingly extreme heat will harm labor productivity, particularly agriculture, transportation and construction. Furthermore, the report found that unchecked climate change will diminish crop yields by more than 10 percent in roughly two decades, place greater demand on power grids and expose more people to the risk of heat- and cold-related death.

While the effects of climate change will not be uniform across the United States, the report notes that global warming already is taking its toll on parts of the nation and will continue to do so, hurting businesses and their bottom line.

This report shows why CNBC's choice to promote climate denial is misguided. Its business viewers would be better served by accurate information about the risks that climate change poses for many businesses.