I presume you would not quibble with the term "pseudo-scientific" to describe these cults.
And religious is what they are. Carbon credits==indulgences. Cute trick for a bozo who flunked out of divinity school, methinks.
The problem is they eminate from real universities and petition our real government for policies that will have major implications.
The doomsday cults in our religious community make for amusing side notes in the daily news; the, as you call them "pseudo-scientists", are in league w/ self-serving politicians working to control our daily lives.
One's funny, the other's not.