These fact sheets have been updated to clarify the attribution of quotes.
After the warmest year in recorded history, a shocking number of congressional Republicans—more than 56 percent—continue to deny or question the science behind human-caused climate change. Here are the facts:
- Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that current human activity is contributing to the warming atmosphere and causing the global climate to change.
- One hundred sixty-nine Republicans in the 114th Congress are on record questioning or denying the science behind climate change.
- Fifty-three percent—or 131 members—of the House Republican caucus question or deny the science behind climate change.
- Seventy percent—or 38 members—of the Senate Republican caucus question or deny the science behind climate change.
As Congress returns to the nation’s capital, the new Republican-controlled Congress has made it clear that it has no intention of prioritizing action on climate change. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the new head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), have vowed to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s, or EPA’s, attempt to curb carbon pollution and slow the devastating effects of climate change. For more information about climate deniers in the 114th Congress, see the following fact sheets on members of Congress from:
Tiffany Germain is the Research Manager for the ThinkProgress War Room at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Kristen Ellingboe is a Researcher for the ThinkProgress War Room.