A recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, released in September 2025, reaffirms the 2009 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finding that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities pose a significant threat to public health and welfare. The report, prepared by the Committee on Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and U.S. Climate, reviews extensive scientific evidence gathered since 2009, including datasets, peer-reviewed literature, and public comments. It concludes that human-caused GHG emissions are the primary driver of observed climate changes, such as global warming, rising sea levels, and increased extreme weather events. These changes are linked to adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and negative impacts on agriculture, ecosystems, water resources, and infrastructure. The report warns that continued GHG emissions will exacerbate these issues, potentially triggering tipping points in Earth’s systems. It aims to inform the EPA’s reconsideration of its 2009 endangerment finding, emphasizing the robustness of current scientific evidence.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change: Human activities, such as fossil fuel burning, deforestation, and agriculture, increase atmospheric GHG concentrations, driving long-term global warming. No natural factors, like solar radiation or volcanic activity, can explain these changes.
Observed Climate Impacts: Improved observational data confirm rising temperatures, increased extreme heat and precipitation events, declining cold extremes, ocean warming, decreasing ocean pH, rising sea levels, and intensified wildfires.
Public Health Impacts: Climate change worsens exposure to extreme heat, air pollutants, allergens, and infectious diseases, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups like older adults and outdoor workers. Emerging evidence suggests impacts on mental health, nutrition, and pregnancy outcomes.
Welfare Impacts: Climate variability harms agriculture, forests, grasslands, water availability, and ocean ecosystems. Infrastructure and energy systems face increasing stress and costs due to climate-related changes.
Future Risks: Continued GHG emissions will lead to more severe climate changes, with all models projecting further warming and increased risks of crossing critical thresholds or tipping points.
Critique
The report is criticized for its narrow focus and omission of key considerations:
Ignoring Adaptation Measures: The report (page 7) explicitly excludes potential adaptations, such as air conditioning, which could mitigate health impacts during heatwaves, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Wildfire Risk Oversimplification: On page 21, the report attributes increased wildfire severity to climate change but overlooks evidence that poor forest management policies, influenced by environmental ideologies, significantly contribute to wildfire disasters.
Ocean Health Claims: The assertion on page 21 that warmer conditions threaten ocean ecosystems is questioned, as historical evidence from warmer geological periods suggests ocean ecosystems thrived under such conditions.
Downplaying Cold Weather Benefits: The report (page 44) emphasizes heatwave harms but minimizes the benefits of reduced cold waves, which cause significant mortality in many regions, including warm climates like India.
Exaggerated Claims: The claim on page 53 that global warming promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria is seen as overstated, ignoring natural ecological balances where predators and competitors limit bacterial overgrowth.
Demographic Contradiction: The report’s premise that warm weather is broadly harmful is challenged by U.S. demographic trends, where retirees flock to warm states like Florida for health benefits.
Misuse of Resources: The report is criticized as a redundant, politicized effort funded by endowments meant for innovative scientific research or supporting young scientists, potentially betraying the intentions of donors who expected their contributions to fund meaningful advancements.
While the report compiles extensive scientific evidence to support the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding, its selective focus and omission of adaptation measures, alternative explanations for environmental issues, and potential benefits of warming undermine its objectivity. The critique argues that the report prioritizes alarmism over balanced analysis, wasting resources that could have been used for more impactful scientific endeavors.
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