National Academies report links CO2 to extreme weather, sparking lawsuit concerns

A new National Academies of Sciences report attributes severe weather to carbon emissions and assigns monetary damages, prompting fears of increased climate litigation.

During a recent webinar, the National Academies of Sciences presented a 253-page assessment that presumes carbon dioxide from human activity intensifies extreme weather and calculates corresponding financial damages. Committee chair James W. Hurrell emphasized the report’s novelty in linking climate attribution to monetary claims, yet the presentation offered no empirical test of the assumed causal link. Critics argue the study ignores historical data such as the 1930s heat wave, a downturn in hurricane frequency, and the role of forest management in fire risk.

The panel’s composition heavily favored climate-orthodox academics from institutions like Columbia, Yale and Oxford, excluding dissenting voices such as William Happer, Richard Lindzen, Steve Koonin, Roger Pielke Jr., and Judith Curry. Funding from the Bezos Earth Fund and similar groups was described as having no sway, a point contested by observers who see grant availability shaping the consensus. By providing a purported scientific foundation for damages, the report could fuel a wave of climate-related lawsuits, draining resources and potentially eroding public confidence in scientific institutions.