Precision in Climate Science

The Line: Scientists cannot precisely measure climate change nor the impact of human activity on climate change.

The Party: Republican

In the past, some Republicans have denied that global warming and climate change are occurring — calling the former a “hoax” and the latter “pseudoscientific.” In recent months, a number of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members have taken a different stance: They acknowledge that the climate is changing and humans have contributed, but they’ve said that scientists can’t measure or don’t understand human impact precisely.

But scientists can measure that impact with varying levels of certainty and precision.

During his confirmation hearing on Jan. 18, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said, “Science tells us that the climate is changing and that human activity in some manner impacts that change,” adding, “The ability to measure with precision the degree and extent of that impact, and what to do about it, are subject to continuing debate and dialogue, and well it should be.”

Pruitt repeated this claim on in an interview with CNN’S Wolf Blitzer and on at the Conservative Political Action Conference. For example, he told Blitzer “we know that there is a warming or — a warming of the planet; climate change is occurring; and there’s some human contribution to that or human activity that