When you look at major scientific organizations and the true number of scientists who support the idea of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change, the widespread myth that there is not a consensus in the scientific community is evidently false. According to NASA, at least 97% of “actively publishing scientists” are in agreement that climate change is human-caused.[1] Through the assessment of peer-reviewed scientific journals, it has been concluded that a substantial majority of scientists support the position that humans have indeed caused climate change. Commonly known organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, have all released public statements in support of the position that climate change is caused by humans.1 However, it isn’t exclusively American scientists and scientific organizations that back anthropogenic climate change; there is a list of 197 international science organizations that endorse that climate change is a result of human activity.[2]
In 1988, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization founded the world’s leading organization for “climate change assessment,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[3] Though the IPCC does not conduct their own research, every five or six years they release an assessment report on that status of global climate change.[4] The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), which was released in 2014, allows the scientific community to communicate to policymakers about what is known about climate change, potential effects and risks, and adaptation/mitigation strategy.[5] 800 scientists from 80 different countries assessed 30,000 scientific papers, which led them to the conclusion that “human influence on the climate system is clear” and “the more we disrupt our climate, the more we risk severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts.”5
Despite the large percentage of scientists who back human-caused climate change, the media often fails to present it in this way. Instead, when climate change is discussed it is generally portrayed as a debate. Despite the 97% consensus in the scientific community, media attention given to climate change makes it seem like the scientific community is split down the middle on the issue, leading to “a very unbalanced perception of reality.”[1] By “balancing” a climate discussion with a climate scientist and a climate change denier, the media portrays a 50% disagreement, rather than 3%. [6]
-Written by Tessa Yip