EPA eliminates mention of fossil fuels in website on warming’s causes. Scientists call it misleading

The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly altered its online climate change resources, removing all references to fossil fuels as the primary driver of global warming from its educational webpage explaining the causes of climate change. The modified page now exclusively highlights natural phenomena as climate change factors, despite overwhelming scientific consensus that human activities are responsible for nearly all current warming trends.

The changes, implemented recently without announcement, represent a significant departure from the page’s previous content. While the current version mentions natural factors such as changes in Earth’s orbit, solar activity, volcanic eruptions, and natural carbon dioxide fluctuations, it notably omits any reference to fossil fuel combustion that scientists identify as the dominant cause of modern climate change.

Seven climate scientists and three former EPA officials interviewed by The Associated Press characterized the alterations as misleading and potentially harmful to public understanding of climate science.

“Now it is completely wrong,” said University of California climate scientist Daniel Swain, who pointed out that links to climate impacts, risks, and indicators on the EPA site are now broken. “This was a tool that I know for a fact that a lot of educators used. It was actually one of the best designed easy access climate change information websites for the U.S.”

This modification follows earlier actions by the Trump Administration to remove the national climate assessment from government websites.

According to internet archives, the October version of the same EPA page clearly stated: “Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which has changed the earth’s climate.” It also explicitly noted that natural processes “do not explain the warming that we have observed over the last century.”

The revised text now reads: “Natural processes are always influencing the earth’s climate and can explain climate changes prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s. However, recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone.” While this last sentence acknowledges some non-natural influence, it deliberately avoids specifying fossil fuels or human activity.

When questioned about the changes, EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch responded, “Unlike the previous administration, the Trump EPA is focused on protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback, not left-wing political agendas. As such, this agency no longer takes marching orders from the climate cult.” Hirsch added that the previous website remains archived and available, though users report that clicking on “explore climate change resources” on the archived site leads to an error message.

Former Republican EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who served under President George W. Bush, expressed concern about the changes. “You can refuse to talk about it, but it doesn’t make it go away. And we’re seeing it. Everybody’s seeing it,” Whitman said. “We look ridiculous, quite frankly. The rest of the world understands this is happening and they’re taking steps… And we’re just going backwards.”

Gina McCarthy, who led the EPA during the Obama administration, criticized current EPA chief Lee Zeldin, calling him “a wolf in sheep’s clothing, actively spiking any attempt to protect our health, well-being and precious natural resources.”

Climate scientists emphasize that nearly 100% of current global warming stems from human activities. Without these influences, Earth would actually be experiencing a cooling trend, according to researchers. The natural factors now exclusively highlighted on the EPA page might account for only “a very tiny amount of warming or cooling at the moment,” Swain noted.

Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, underscored the scientific consensus on climate change causation. “Numerous reports from the nation’s leading scientists confirm that the climate is changing as a result of human activities,” McNutt stated. “Even the EPA acknowledges that natural causes cannot explain the current changes in climate. It is important that the public be presented with all of the facts.”

Jeremy Symons, former EPA climate advisor and current senior advisor for the Environmental Protection Network, offered a stark comparison: “Ignoring fossil fuel pollution as the driving force behind the climate changes we have seen in our lifetime is like pretending cigarettes don’t cause lung cancer.”

The Associated Press, which receives financial support from multiple private foundations for its environmental coverage, maintains editorial independence and sole responsibility for all content.