Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin has stated that long-term climate projections should be viewed as a range of possible outcomes rather than definitive certainties. He cautioned against labeling individuals who disagree with these forecasts as "science deniers."
Speaking at the Great American State Fair, Zeldin explained that projections for the years 2050 and 2100 do not always acknowledge the spectrum from optimistic to pessimistic scenarios. He emphasized the importance of relying on present-day facts over past assumptions and regularly updating estimates with new data.
"Every day that goes by we learn what the reality is at that point in the future, and we're able to compare it to what the predictions are," Zeldin told Fox News Digital. He believes that hearing out newer perspectives on climate change, which might be based on different studies or data, can lead to a more accurate understanding of its present implications.
Zeldin's remarks come as the Trump administration has initiated reviews of several climate-related regulations. This includes reconsidering the EPA's 2009 Endangerment Finding, which forms the basis for many federal greenhouse gas regulations, as well as other emissions rules adopted under previous Democratic administrations. Zeldin has been leading the re-evaluation of the agency's 2009 Endangerment Finding since taking his post.
"I don't think it's a good idea that if someone disagrees with someone else's prediction of exactly what the temperature's gonna be in the year 2100, that all of a sudden that person is just automatically some science denier," Zeldin said, advising to "hear them out."