Nature Podcast Controversial climate report from Trump team galvanizes scientists into action
Aug 15, 2025
Jeff Tollefson, a Senior reporter for Nature, delves into a US Department of Energy report that downplays the economic impact of global warming. He reveals how this controversial finding has sparked outrage within the scientific community, prompting researchers to mobilize against potential policy reversals. Tollefson explains the urgency of presenting a unified front to combat misinformation and discusses the legal challenges and implications for climate policy arising from the report. The dialogue highlights the long-term consequences of such political actions on climate science.
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Report Reflects Political Agenda
- The DOE report was prepared within an administration openly skeptical of climate science and aiming to reduce greenhouse-gas regulation.
- Jeff Tollefson explains the report functions as part of a political push to curtail EPA authority on emissions.
Report Undermines Mainstream Findings
- The report questions decades of mainstream climate research across sea-level rise, coral impacts, and ecosystem effects.
- It argues climate science is less certain and suggests there may be nothing to worry about.
Scientists Called Out Misquoting
- Researchers say the report misrepresents their work and even misquotes papers about climate fingerprints.
- One scientist noted his paper was cited as finding no fingerprint when it actually found greenhouse-gas fingerprints.