Trump Hails UN Climate Panel’s Retreat From RCP8.5 as Scientists Call Scenario Implausible
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 17
Trump Hails UN Climate Panel’s Retreat From RCP8.5 as Scientists Call Scenario Implausible
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 17
Trump said the United Nations’ top climate committee had effectively admitted its RCP8.5 warming pathway was wrong, using the shift to attack Democratic climate and energy policies.
Researchers are phasing out SSP5-8.5 because rapid renewable growth, climate policy and recent emissions trends make that extreme high-emissions future less plausible, though they still want models to span severe to lower-warming outcomes.
The scenario had underpinned some of the bleakest projections in UN-backed modeling, including sharp temperature and sea-level rises, crop failures and even extinction-scale risks.
The latest clash extends Trump’s broader campaign against climate policy after he called climate change a "con job" at the UN last year, drawing criticism from Hillary Clinton and support from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
Will new AI-powered climate models finally bridge the gap between scientific warnings and decisive global action?
If our actions make the worst climate predictions less likely, how do we prove that climate policy is actually working?
As scientists update climate scenarios, how should industries adapt their long-term plans to this constantly evolving scientific landscape?