Washington, D.C. — Today, the Center for American Progress released a report showing that 123 members of Congress continue to deny the existence of human-caused climate change, despite overwhelming scientific evidence and the growing human and financial cost of extreme weather.
This is the latest report on an issue that CAP has tracked closely, with the most analysis published in 2021.
The analysis explores rhetorical shifts—from outright climate denial to subtler types of obstruction — by members of Congress that may further delay action on the climate crisis. This refusal to accept scientific reality also prolongs the influence of the fossil fuel industry on environmental and energy policy in the United States.
Some examples include redirecting responsibility for addressing the climate crisis, such as deferring U.S. actions to reduce greenhouse emissions until other countries act first; portraying climate activism as alarmism; or spreading misinformation.
Among the findings:
- 123: total number of climate deniers in the 118th Congress
- $52 million: total career contributions from the fossil fuel industry to climate deniers in the 118th Congress
- 90: number of climate deniers who denied the results of the 2020 election
- 23 percent: share of members in the 118th Congress who are climate deniers
- The number of outright climate deniers in Congress continues a downward trend from 150 in the 116th Congress, 139 in the 117th, and now, 123 in the 118th Congress.
While there has been some progress over the years in gradually reducing the number of climate deniers in Congress, there are still significant setbacks. For example, the current speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-LA) is a prominent climate denier, while his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), was not.
“Elected officials and the fossil fuel industry must be held accountable for their misleading and deceptive statements on climate change,” said Kat So, a campaign manager for Energy and Environment Campaigns at CAP and author of the report. “Their refusal to accept scientific consensus and continued spread of misinformation are a major obstacle to addressing the climate crisis.”
In addition, of the 123 climate deniers in the 118th Congress, 106 are incumbents; the remaining 17 are freshmen members. Of the 106 incumbent members, four have newly denied the scientific consensus behind climate change and have been categorized as climate deniers for the first time in this updated analysis.
Read the report: “Climate Deniers of the 118th Congress” by Kat So
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].