A prominent climate scientist has rejected a US government report that casts doubt on the role of human activity in global warming, arguing that it misrepresents scientific evidence and contains significant factual errors.
Prof Benjamin Santer, an honorary professor at the University of East Anglia (UEA), said the US Department of Energy (DOE) report makes "demonstrably incorrect" claims about climate science and incorrectly interprets his research.
Santer is widely known for helping identify the human "fingerprint" on climate change. His work contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change`s (IPCC) landmark 1995 assessment, which concluded that human activities were having a measurable impact on the Earth`s climate.
The dispute centres on a DOE report published in July 2025 that cited Santer`s research while arguing against the scientific consensus on human-driven climate change. The report was released alongside a proposal by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to repeal its 2009 "endangerment finding," the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to revoke the finding, drawing criticism from scientists and environmental organisations, who warned the decision could weaken climate policies and pose risks to public health.
In response, Santer and fellow climate researchers Susan Solomon of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Thompson of UEA and Colorado State University, and Qiang Fu of the University of Washington published a peer-reviewed study in AGU Advances reaffirming that human activity remains the primary cause of global warming.
The researchers said the DOE report should not be relied upon in legal or policy decisions because of what they described as serious scientific shortcomings.
Santer said one of the clearest indicators of human-caused climate change is the long-observed warming of the lower atmosphere alongside cooling in the upper atmosphere—a pattern predicted by climate models for decades and confirmed through satellite observations.
He said the DOE report`s conclusion contradicting this evidence is factually incorrect and does not accurately reflect the current state of climate science.
The authors also noted that the DOE report has been cited repeatedly in government documents despite criticism from scientists. Although the team that prepared the report was dissolved following legal challenges over federal advisory procedures, the report remains publicly available on the DOE website and has not been revised or withdrawn.
Santer said correcting the scientific record is essential when inaccurate claims appear in official government publications and continue to influence public policy.
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