How Trump-Vetted Scientists Are Trying to Shred the Climate Consensus
A new report commissioned by the Energy Department downplays global warming as the administration seeks to unwind environmental rules.
Emissions rise from a smokestack at the Conesville Power Plant in Conesville, Ohio.
Photographer: Dane Rhys/BloombergA new report from the US Department of Energy says projections of future global warming are exaggerated, while benefits from higher levels of carbon dioxide such as more productive farms are overlooked. It concludes, at odds with the scientific mainstream, that policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions risk doing more harm than good.
Released Tuesday, the report is part of an effort by the Trump administration to try to end the US government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. It’s the output of scientists known for contradicting the consensus embodied in volumes of research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose work is approved by virtually every nation.