--- title: Federal Climate Change Report Released Despite Trump Stance description: A new federal report on climate change stresses the grave threat posed by global warming, challenging Trump's unwillingness to address it canonical: https://time.com/5007913/climate-change-report-trump/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-03T20:06:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:27:06.566Z article:section: Science og:title: Donald Trump Used to Say Climate Change Is a Hoax. The Government Just Confirmed It Isn't og:description: The report's definitive conclusions come despite fears that the White House would seek to stifle the report og:url: https://time.com/5007913/climate-change-report-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda5794cfdf6584e3/6988e4918fd2ee8b9835981e/climate-change-report-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5120 og:image:height: 2880 og:image:alt: climate change report trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Used to Say Climate Change Is a Hoax. The Government Just Confirmed It Isn't twitter:description: The report's definitive conclusions come despite fears that the White House would seek to stifle the report twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda5794cfdf6584e3/6988e4918fd2ee8b9835981e/climate-change-report-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Used to Say Climate Change Is a Hoax. The Government Just Confirmed It Isn't > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. 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Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=064d3ec0-cd16-4172-a1c8-4fe8493abaf2&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Legal Reasons Why President Trump Won't Take A Stand On Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): The Legal Reasons Why President Trump Won't Take A Stand On Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mia6Tcb8.m3u8) (2:11)  _Published 2017-09-26. The Legal Reasons Why President Trump Won't Take A Stand On Climate Change_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 3, 2017 8:06 PM UTC The Legal Reasons Why President Trump Won't Take A Stand On Climate Change  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 3, 2017 8:06 PM UTC A sweeping federal [report](https://science2017.globalchange.gov/) released Friday stressed that climate change poses a grave threat to the U.S. — from the dangers of rapidly increasing temperatures to rising sea levels — challenging the Trump Administration’s unwillingness to address global warming. The climate change report, known as the National Climate Assessment, predicts that sea levels could rise by as much as eight feet by the end of the century, average annual temperatures will continue to rise and forest fires will continue to grow in severity. Humans are “extremely likely” to be responsible for global warming and that “there is no convincing alternative explanation,” researchers write. “This climate report is unprecedented for the U.S. and portends to be of unprecedented value in our national and international discussions of present and future climate change,” said report lead author David Fahey of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a conference call for journalists. “This period is now the warmest in modern civilization.” The report’s definitive conclusions come despite fears that the White House would seek to stifle the report to undermine efforts to address climate change. [President Trump used to call climate change a “hoax”](http://time.com/4959233/donald-trump-climate-change-hoax-question/), has repeatedly questioned the science of climate change and appointed similarly-minded officials to top positions in his administration. In both domestic and foreign affairs, [Trump has sought to undo policies](http://time.com/4908162/donald-trump-climate-change-panel/) intended to address the issue. Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) acknowledged the fear but said that the administration did not attempt to change the report’s scientific conclusions. “The word interference might have been a threat but it never materialized,” said Fahey. “What goes on in the background, outside of my limited science purview, I can’t speak to.” The report does not list policy solutions to address climate change, but researchers said that countries around the globe need to slow the emissions of the greenhouse gases or risk unsafe levels global warming. Temperatures could rise as much as 5°C (9°F) by 2100 if left greenhouse gas emissions are left unchecked, according to the report. Countries from around the globe identified 2°C (3.6°F) as a target to limit warming by the end of the century as part of the [2015 Paris Agreement on climate change](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/). Scientists say that at that point humans will begin to feel some of the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The findings of the report will come as little surprise to those who follow advances in climate science. But the report, which was mandated by Congress and reviewed by 13 federal agencies, lends additional credibility to the urgency of climate change. ## Transcript As a candidate Donald Trump had no problem giving his opinion about climate change. So Obama's talking about all of this with the global warming, and a lot of it's a hoax, it's a hoax, I mean it's a money making industry okay . >> But as president he won't say what he things and neither will his administration. The president himself during the campaign called climate change a hoax. Have you had that conversation with him? I have not had that conversation with him. He no longer believes what he tweeted during the course of the campaign in years earlier, that it's a hoax? Look, you're gonna have to ask him. I'll ask it one more time. Does he believe global warming's a hoax? Does he believe- You should ask him that. When asked their own opinions, other members of the Trump administration generally agree the climate is changing and humans may play a role. Climate is changing, it always has. Man at this particular point in time is having an effect on it, how much effect is what's at debate here. So why is Trump himself so cagey? Part of it is political, polls show the majority of Americans believe global warming is real and is caused by human activities. Part of it personal, Trump does not like to admit he was wrong about an issue in the past As can be seen from his brief and begrudging admission this his crusade over President Obama's birth certificate was mistaken. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. But there's a legal reason too. The Environmental Protection Agency has found that the greenhouse gases, which cause climate change Are a form of pollution that endanger human health and wellbeing. And thanks to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling, that means the EPA must act on those findings. If the Trump Administration were to say climate change isn't real it would be open to lawsuits from environmentalists for not acting on its own EPA findings. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is careful to say that it's real in some form. I indicated That in fact global warming is occurring. That human activity contributes to it in some manner. That doesn't mean the EPA has to keep the Obama administration's plans in place. In fact members of the Trump adminstration have been steadily rolling back regulations designed to fight climate change. They just can't say they're doing that. Because climate change isn't real. 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