Do scientists agree on climate change?

Answer 1

It is in the nature of scientists that they rarely agree on anything. Scientific reputations and careers are not made by agreeing with the general consensus but by disagreeing and by finding credible reasons for disagreeing.

However, a poll of scientists in different fields, conducted by Doran and Kendall Zimmerman in 2009, found that 97 per cent of those who published at least half of their peer-reviewed research in the climate field agreed that human activity was significant in changing global temperature. Anderegg et al., in 2010, similarly found that 97 per cent of actively publishing climate scientists went along with the international panels' consensus. Although each sample involved fewer than a hundred climate scientists, these are statistically significant sample sizes for the total population of climate scientists.

At the other extreme, Doran and Kendall Zimmerman found that only 47% of economic geologists (typically employed by oil companies and the like) concurred.

So, the scientists whom we would regard as the principal experts in the field of climate science are in strong agreement that global warming is a fact and that it is at least principally a result of human activity. Climate scientists agree strongly that global warming is the reason for rising sea levels but there is probably a greater diversity of views as to the effect of global warming on rainfall patterns and intense storm activity. Those scientists who work in other fields, typically where their employers have an interest in minimising the problem, are roughly divided on the issue of global warming.

Answer 2

The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that climate change is happening and is primarily driven by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. There is a strong consensus in the scientific community that urgent action is needed to address the impacts of climate change.