A major federal report, published today, affirms that the planet has warmed significantly since the beginning of the 20th century and that “it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause.” Although President Donald Trump and many of the agency leaders he appointed have expressed skepticism about the reality and seriousness of human-driven climate change, the White House approved the report, the New York Times reports.
The report outlines the ways in which global warming has already caused harmful extreme weather in the United States, including flooding on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, forest fires in the West and Alaska, drought in the West, and heat waves across the country. The report was mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, and includes work from 13 federal agencies and hundreds of scientists inside and outside of government.
A draft of the report was first leaked months ago, by someone worried the Trump administration would try to suppress it.
