--- title: EPA Head Scott Pruitt's Climate Change Position Evolves description: Scott Pruitt still acknowledges that climate change is happening, but he now argues that it could actually be good for the planet canonical: https://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-09T16:12:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:12:22.331Z article:section: Politics og:title: The EPA Head Has a New Argument: Maybe Climate Change Will Be Good og:description: "How do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100?" og:url: https://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19855abd8fafe84b/6988fa074ee26251ca310ad6/scott-pruitt-donald-trump-interview.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: scott pruitt donald trump interview og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The EPA Head Has a New Argument: Maybe Climate Change Will Be Good twitter:description: "How do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100?" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19855abd8fafe84b/6988fa074ee26251ca310ad6/scott-pruitt-donald-trump-interview.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The EPA Head Has a New Argument: Maybe Climate Change Will Be Good > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3ad9ccfd-24ea-465d-8372-e4cdec9090af&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 9, 2018 4:12 PM UTC  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December in Washington, D.C. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December in Washington, D.C. Pete Marovich—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 9, 2018 4:12 PM UTC As the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt chooses his words carefully, especially on the subject of climate change. A longtime opponent of environmental regulation, Pruitt has to acknowledge that climate change exists to avoid legal problems that could arise from dismissing agency-approved science, but he has also sought to cast doubt on the need to fight it. His latest argument: Climate change is happening, but it might actually be good for the planet and the human race — an argument that contradicts virtually all mainstream scientists who study the issue. In January, he [told](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-pruitt-exclusive/exclusive-trumps-epa-aims-to-replace-obama-era-climate-water-regulations-in-2018-idUSKBN1EZ079) Reuters that “the climate is changing” but asked “how do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100?” And last week he told the New York _Times_ that “it’s pretty arrogant for people in 2018 to say we know what the ideal surface temperature should be in 2100.” This represents a new line of argument for Pruitt as well as the broader climate change skeptic community. During his confirmation hearings as EPA head last year, Pruitt [acknowledged climate change](http://time.com/4637905/epa-scott-pruitt-global-warming/) and focused his skepticism on the the degree to which humans were contributing. The evidence that man-made climate change is occurring is overwhelming in the scientific literature and has been affirmed by government agencies including the EPA. That reality has put [right-wing groups](http://time.com/4712153/climate-change-deniers-donald-trump-epa-global-warming/) that deny climate change in a corner and forced them to develop new arguments to justify inaction on the issue. Uncertainty about the impacts of climate change and optimism about the human ability to adapt rank among those arguments. Pruitt’s shift in tone comes as planning continues for a so-called “red-team blue-team” exercise that pits mainstream scientists against climate change deniers. Pruitt [told](http://time.com/4990060/scott-pruitt-interview-epa-schedule-meetings/) TIME in October that such an exercise would create a “robust meaningful debate” that he hoped would build “consensus around this issue.” But climate scientists say the debate is an unnecessary sideshow that would distract from substantive discussions about policy. Research shows that temperatures will rise by more than 5.8° Fahrenheit even if countries fulfill their commitments under the [Paris climate deal](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists say 3.6° Fahrenheit is the level where the planet will begin to experience the worst effects of warming. Indeed, Pruitt’s remarks on the impacts of climate change are unmoored from the policy moves the EPA has taken under his leadership. Pruitt has sought to undo a slew of Obama-era climate regulations, primarily by arguing that the EPA lacked the legal authority to take those actions. But he has stopped short of seeking to undo the endangerment finding, the EPA’s landmark scientific finding that climate change endangers human welfare. That’s where some of his supporters want to see him go next — and his recent remarks suggest he’s moving further in their direction, at least rhetorically. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/"},"headline":"The EPA Head Has a New Argument: Maybe Climate Change Will Be Good","datePublished":"2018-02-09T16:12:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:12:22.331Z","description":"Scott Pruitt still acknowledges that climate change is happening, but he now argues that it could actually be good for the planet","url":"https://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/","keywords":["climate change","Environment","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19855abd8fafe84b/6988fa074ee26251ca310ad6/scott-pruitt-donald-trump-interview.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19855abd8fafe84b/6988fa074ee26251ca310ad6/scott-pruitt-donald-trump-interview.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"scott pruitt donald trump interview","caption":"scott pruitt donald trump interview","creditText":"Pete Marovich—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5139589/scott-pruitt-climate-change-epa/","name":"The EPA Head Has a New Argument: Maybe Climate Change Will Be Good"}}]}] ```