National Academy of Sciences Pulls Climate Chapter as 33% Match Claim Fuels Review
Updated
Updated · AOL · Aug 10
National Academy of Sciences Pulls Climate Chapter as 33% Match Claim Fuels Review
3 articles · Updated · AOL · Aug 10
Summary
The National Academy of Sciences removed the climate-science chapter from its website while it conducts an independent review of how the guidance was developed.
A conservative watchdog said 33% of the chapter matched previously published material, including a 23% overlap with a 2020 paper by Columbia Law professor Michael Burger, a lawyer tied to climate suits against energy companies.
The chapter appears in the fourth edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, a guide produced with the Federal Judicial Center that has been cited by more than 1,300 judges since 1994.
The dispute centers on whether the chapter presented climate attribution science as settled, a key issue in lawsuits seeking to link specific emissions sources to specific harms and damages.
The removal follows months of Republican criticism, including from President Trump, and comes as climate evidence plays a growing role in litigation against fossil-fuel companies.
Why was a crucial climate science guide for judges pulled offline, and how will it impact the surge in global climate lawsuits?
What happens to ongoing climate litigation when the very manual judges rely on for scientific evidence is suspended over procedural concerns?
Could pausing this judicial guide ultimately strengthen future environmental rulings, or will it leave courts struggling to interpret complex weather data?