There is a disconnect between public perceptions of climate change and climate science

Energy Secretary Chris Wright understands this. It’s why he commissioned an independent assessment by a team of five senior scientists, including me, to provide clearer insights into what’s known and not about the changing climate.

 The resulting peer-reviewed report is entirely our work, free from political influence—a departure from previous assessments. 

It draws from United Nations and U.S. climate reports, peer-reviewed research, and primary observations to focus on important aspects of climate science that have been misrepresented to nonexperts.

Complex climate models provide limited guidance on the climate’s response to rising carbon-dioxide levels. Overly sensitive models, often using extreme scenarios, have exaggerated future warming projections and consequences.

Our report is the first from Washington in years that deviates from the narrative of a climate headed for catastrophe. 

That these findings surprised many speaks to a governmental failure to communicate climate science accurately to the public.

Steven E. Koonin Wall Street Journal Sept. 7, 2025

Mr. Koonin is a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and author of “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters.”

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/at-long-last-clarity-on-climate-7c49bfb6

“Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters.”

https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Climate-Science-Doesnt-Matters/dp/1950665798