--- 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: 2026-02-23T18:05:56.283Z 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Used to Say Climate Change Is a Hoax. The Government Just Confirmed It Isn't  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 3, 2017 8:06 PM UTC  Clark Dry Lake, Anza\_borrego Desert State Park California Clark Dry Lake, Anza\_borrego Desert State Park CaliforniaAlan Majchrowicz—Getty Images  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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5007913/climate-change-report-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5007913/climate-change-report-trump/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Used to Say Climate Change Is a Hoax. The Government Just Confirmed It Isn't","datePublished":"2017-11-03T20:06:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:05:56.283Z","description":"'This period is now the warmest in modern civilization'","url":"https://time.com/5007913/climate-change-report-trump/","keywords":["climate change","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda5794cfdf6584e3/6988e4918fd2ee8b9835981e/climate-change-report-trump.jpg?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":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda5794cfdf6584e3/6988e4918fd2ee8b9835981e/climate-change-report-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"climate change report trump","caption":"climate-change-report-trump","creditText":"Alan Majchrowicz—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/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5007913/climate-change-report-trump/","name":"Donald Trump Used to Say Climate Change Is a Hoax. The Government Just Confirmed It Isn't"}}]}] ```