Almost one in four US members of Congress are climate change deniers, all of whom are Republicans, according to research from The Center for American Progress (CAP).
Against a backdrop of “overwhelming” scientific evidence of human-caused climate change, the Center periodically analysed statements by sitting members of Congress to determine their position on the crisis.
It found that of the members of the 118th US Congress, 123 elected officials are climate deniers— 23 per cent of 535 total members.
CAP’s research also revealed that while outright climate denial is the most commonly understood term, this is only one type of an “ever-widening” array of tactics.
Indeed, the Center also detected subtler forms of obstruction emerging, which may “further delay action on the climate crisis,” it said.
These elected officials were found to “redirect” responsibility for addressing the crisis, spread misinformation, and present climate activism as doomism and alarmism.
The report also found that these climate change deniers, comprising 100 representatives and 23 senators, have received $52,071,133 in lifetime campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was found to be the climate change denier who had received the most fossil fuel funding at $5m.
“While not every member who has received fossil fuel contributions is a climate denier, many are in positions of strong influence over environmental policy,” the report said.
Senator Mitt Romney and Senator John Cornyn both received the most fossil fuel contributions, at $9,791,954 and $5,160,111, respectively.
However, according to the report, the two are not categorised as climate deniers.
Instances of “outright climate denial” can be seen in the words of the majority leader in the house, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who himself has received over $2 million in total career fossil fuel contributions. Scalise, for example, was quoted as saying: “We’ve had freezing periods in the 1970s. They said it was going to be a new cooling period. And now it gets warmer and gets colder, and that’s called Mother Nature. But the idea that hurricanes or wildfires were caused just in the last few years is just fallacy.”
According to the report, among the 90 newly elected or appointed members of the 118th Congress, 18 are climate deniers.
At the same time, the research did indicate a “downward trend” in climate denial, from 150 in the 116th Congress, 139 in the 117th, and now, 123 in the 118th Congress.
However, CAP noted that “employing and spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories, and denials” are not strictly limited to climate change.
Indeed, the analysis revealed that 90 of the 123 climate deniers in the 118th Congress also publicly denied the legitimacy of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“Elected officials and the fossil fuel industry must be held accountable for their misleading and deceptive statements on climate change,” commented Kat So, a campaign manager for Energy and Environment Campaigns at CAP and author of the report.
“Their refusal to accept scientific consensus and continued spread of misinformation are a major obstacle to addressing the climate crisis,” added So.
The analysis comes ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November.
This year is a historic election year, with almost half the world’s population heading to the polls. It is also a critical moment for the climate, in what some scientists are saying could be the hottest year on record, following a record-breaking 2023.
In the shadow of this, there is much debate about what the outcome of the US election, and more specifically, a second Trump term, could mean for climate policy.
Indeed, while the former President and real estate tycoon has seemingly flip-flopped on his climate change beliefs over the years, he has repeatedly denied climate science and called climate change “a hoax,” while the Trump administration itself rolled back over 100 climate policies.
In a recent conversation with Telsa chief exec and X boss Elon Musk, Trump said that rising sea levels would mean “more oceanfront property.”
“The science is clear: Americans cannot afford to ignore the realities of global climate change,” the report reads.
“Climate-fueled extreme weather events continue to cost American lives and billions of dollars year after year, and the intensity and frequency of these events will continue to increase without action to address the causes of climate change.”
