We discover flaws in the foundations of a recent strand of literature estimating the carbon Kuznets curve (CKC). The CKC hypothesizes that carbon dioxide emissions initially increase with economic growth but that the relationship is eventually reversed. The recent literature attempts to estimate the CKC by adding energy consumption as a control variable. Due to model misspecifications related to the econometric methodology and database definitions, the results are biased to support the existence of a CKC. Consequently the literature underestimates the need for climate policies. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.