Is Climate Change Even Real?

One of the oldest myths surrounding climate change is that scientists disagree on whether it is real and whether it has been caused by human activity. This story has lived everywhere for decades, causing lots of doubt and delayed actions about climate change. The truth is: the scientific community is not divided – far from it. The actual debate regarding the truth of climate change lies not among scientists but among people who misrepresent them.

What Scientists Actually Say

No matter what some headlines may say or what some internet commentators may proclaim. Climate scientists largely agree that climate change is real and manmade. More than 97% of actively publishing climatologists are of that opinion. A 2021 analysis of more than 88,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers found a remarkable 99% consensus on global warming ascribed to humans.

Such agreement on anything in science is rare, and the implications behind it are enormous. Institutions from all over the globe – including NASA, the IPCC, and national academies of science – have boldly asserted that greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, are the ultimate drivers of rapid climate change today.

Where the Narrative Got Twisted

Alright, but why does the myth persist? Why do some people still not believe in climate change? The reason behind this is not any legitimate scientific uncertainty but a distortion of views. In public debates, the voices of some climate skeptics are often people who are not trained in climate science or people who are funded by fossil fuel interests. This creates some false balance where a tiny minority is given equal credence with a vastly larger majority.

There is also a lot of confusion arising from the change in natural climate variation. Many people argue that the Earth’s climate has changed before, so what we are seeing today is nothing out of the ordinary, but it is just a part of its natural cycle. Yes, the Earth does continue evolving, but the current rate of global warming is occurring ten times faster than past episodes, and it is directly proportional to the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations since the start of the Industrial Revolution. This alone is enough to tell that the change the world is facing is no natural process.

There is much more hard evidence that supports this consensus among scientists. The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today have surpassed 420 parts per million, which has not been seen in more than two million years. Ever since the pre-industrial era, global temperatures have risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius, where the decade 2014 to 2023 marking the hottest in at least 125,000 years.

Why This Myth Matters More Than You Think

At first glance, it may seem that the myth of scientific agreement is nothing more than a harmless misunderstanding. But its consequences are serious. Due to this, policy decisions have been delayed, public support for climate action has been weakened, and all of this has allowed industries and governments to avoid accountability. This myth, moreover, undermines trust in science. When people believe that even experts can’t agree, they become more vulnerable to disinformation and political polarization. That confusion benefits those who have the most to lose from regulation, especially powerful fossil fuel lobbies and political actors resisting climate policies. This “false equivalence” does more harm than good when the truth is already so well established.

The claim that scientists disagree about climate change is a myth that has been thoroughly debunked by data, consensus, and decades of research. Acknowledging reality and the consensus is a necessary step towards climate solutions, so the sooner we put this myth to rest, the faster we can move to a future that’s not just livable, but sustainable.

Bibliography

“10 Myths about Climate Change Busted | National Grid Group.” Nationalgrid.com, 2024, www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/10-myths-about-climate-change-busted.

“1051. Debunking 8 Myths about Climate Change | 国際農研.” Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences | JIRCAS, July 2024, www.jircas.go.jp/en/program/proc/blog/20240702. Accessed 7 May 2025.

Bryner, Jeanna. “The Reality of Climate Change: 10 Myths Busted.” Livescience.com, Live Science, 4 Apr. 2012, www.livescience.com/19466-climate-change-myths-busted.html.

Cook, John. “Arguments from Global Warming Skeptics and What the Science Really Says.” Skeptical Science, 2019, skepticalscience.com/argument.php.

ThinkLandscape. “Top 10 Climate Change Myths BUSTED - #ThinkLandscape.” #ThinkLandscape, 2 Nov. 2022, thinklandscape.globallandscapesforum.org/63287/top-10-climate-change-myths-busted/. Accessed 7 May 2025.

UNEP. “Debunking Eight Common Myths about Climate Change.” UNEP, 4 June 2024, www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/debunking-eight-common-myths-about-climate-change.