Here's a bit of handy reference material for when you come across a reference in the news to the Mercatus Center based at George Mason University in Virginia.

The two fundamental goals driving the Mercatus Center are to (a) gain surreptitious prestige by putting out banal analyses on seemingly innocuous deregulation and small government topics, and thereby (b) further their ever-overriding objective of deregulating environmental protection and undermining any effort to meaningfully address climate change.

Background:

Many people have already heard about the libertarian billionaire businessmen brothers Charles and David Koch who have helped to found and/or fund a number of non-profit organizations and think tanks. {…}

What many people may not be aware of is the number of academic centers/institutions that the Kochs are also helping to fund at both public and private colleges and universities—including {} the Mercatus Center, a conservative think tank located at George Mason University in Virginia. {…}

Thomas McGarity, a University of Texas law professor who specializes in environmental issues, described the [Mercatus Center's] strategy: “You take corporate money and give it to a neutral-sounding think tank,” which “hires people with pedigrees and academic degrees who put out credible-seeming studies. But they all coincide perfectly with the economic interests of their funders.”

An example of the Mercatus Center's climate change delusions:

In a public comment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on vehicle emissions, the Mercatus Center suggested that global warming would be, "beneficial, occurring at night, in the winter, and at the poles. If a slight warming does occur, historical evidence suggests it is likely to be beneficial, stimulating plant growth and making humans better off.

(emphasis mine)