New US Govt Report Pushes View That Global Warming Is Exaggerated

Trump-vetted experts say policies to cut emissions risk doing more harm than good

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NEW YORK — A 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 on July 28, 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 is the output of scientists known for contradicting the consensus embodied in volumes of research by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose work is approved by virtually every nation.

Publishing an alternate approach to the science of global warming on the same day that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it plans to revoke the endangerment finding — a determination that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare — marks a step-up in the administration's war on regulations.

Since its adoption in 2009, the endangerment finding has become the bedrock of many US environmental rules.

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said repealing the finding would "end US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families".

Climate experts say it will hobble the country's efforts to rein in rising temperatures and lessen the impacts, such as more intense storms, droughts and wildfires. The federal government's own research shows climate-fuelled extreme weather is already causing US$150 billion in losses a year in the US.