According to research, 99.9% of scientists agree that humans are changing the climate. This supports the need for global action at the Cop26 summit.
Based on nearly 90,000 climate-related research, the authors state that the scientific certainty regarding the effects of greenhouse gases is comparable to that of evolution and plate tectonics. Experts are unanimous in their belief that fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal are heating the planet and creating more extreme weather.
An earlier survey from 2013 found that 97% of the studies published between 1991-2012 supported the notion that human activities are changing Earth's climate.
Cornell University's study has expanded and updated this finding. It shows that the small minority of skeptical voices has almost disappeared as more evidence is presented about the connection between fossil fuel burning and climate change.
Two stages were used to conduct the most recent survey of peer-reviewed literature from 2012 to 2020. The researchers first looked at a random selection of 3,000 papers. They found only four papers that doubted that the climate crisis was caused humans. The researchers searched the entire database of 88.125 studies looking for keywords related to climate scepticism, such as natural cycles or cosmic rays. They found 28 papers that were published in minor journals.
According to the authors, their Tuesday study in Environmental Research Letters was published and showed that experts are now skeptical.
Q&A: What is Cop26? Show Over the past three decades, almost every year world governments met to discuss how to respond to the global climate crisis. Every country on Earth is bound by the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC), to prevent dangerous climate change and to find equitable ways to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Cop stands for Conference of the Parties under the UNFCCC. This year's 26th iteration is postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be hosted in Glasgow by the UK.
More than 120 world leaders will be present at the conference, which will open officially on 31 October. The leaders will then leave, leaving complex negotiations to their representatives (mainly senior environmental officials or ministers). The conference is expected to attract approximately 25,000 participants. The talks will conclude at 6pm on Friday, 12 November. Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent We appreciate your feedback.
It's a case closed. The scientific community is not in agreement with human-caused climate change. This was stated by Mark Lynas (a Cornell University visiting fellow).
This was in line with the August view of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the world's most prestigious scientific body), which stated: It is unambiguous that human influence has warmed both the ocean and the atmosphere.
The public is not aware of the expertise of certain experts and it is not reflected in politics. This is particularly true in the USA, where fossil fuel companies funded a disinformation campaign suggesting that science is still not settled. It is similar to the campaign of the tobacco industries to doubt the connection between smoking and cancer.
Pew Research Center's 2016 study found that only 27% believed the climate crisis was caused by humans.
Senior Republicans continue to doubt the connection between human activity, the climate crisis, as market analysts have advised them to since George W Bush's presidency. The Center for American Progress reports that 30 US senators and all 109 US representatives have refused to acknowledge scientific evidence of climate change caused by human activity. Many large media outlets and social networks promote climate-scepticism views that are based on little or no science.
Lynas stated that the study should motivate them to review their policies. This leaves Twitter and Facebook in serious trouble. It's very similar to misinformation about vaccines. Both have no scientific basis and can have a devastating impact on society. Climate misinformation can spread through social networks. Regulators should force them to review their policies and algorithms.
Commentators have questioned the importance of scientific consensus and said it distracts from more pressing issues. They do however say that media organizations must not give false balance to both for-and-against arguments. A consensus is essential for an international response to the crisis.
