Barrett said, « I don’t think my views on global warming or climate change are relevant to the job I would do as a judge. » Many scientists disagree.
In Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett this week, she was asked multiple times about her views on climate science. Although she did not go into much depth, she did offer some clues in her brief responses. « You know, I’m certainly not a scientist, » Barrett said at one point. « I’ve read things about climate change. I would not say I have firm views on it. » In response to further questioning by Senator Kamala Harris, Barrett declined to share her thinking on the topic. « I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial, » she said. Throughout the hearing, Barrett, a federal judge, was careful to avoid disclosing her views on a wide range of issues, not just. But experts in climate change communication and climate change law say her comments are concerning. Professor John Cook is an expert in climate communications and cognitive science at George Mason University, as well as the founder of Skeptical Science and co-author of The Debunking Handbook. He says that although Barrett didn’t say much, what she did say is telling. « The ‘not a scientist’ comment was a tell — not explicit but suggestive, as it’s the go-to catchphrase of — usually a preamble right before they deny the scientific consensus, » he told CBS News. During the hearing, Barrett did not deny the scientific evidence of climate change, but she did refer to it as « a very contentious matter of public debate. » While no one can dispute that, it is frustrating to many climate scientists who acknowledge that while there should be public and political debate about climate change policy, they say there is no debate about climate change science. Senator Harris, who is also the Democratic nominee for vice president, led Barrett through a line of questioning about whether she believes COVID-19 is infectious — « It’s an obvious fact, yes, » Barrett replied — and whether smoking causes cancer, before asking if she believes » and that it’s threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink. » Barrett objected, « You have asked me a series of questions that are completely uncontroversial » on COVID-19 and smoking, « and then trying to analogize that to eliciting… an opinion from me on that is on a very contentious matter of public debate. And I will not do that. » But Cook, who produced one of the most cited studies on the scientific consensus about climate change, says that among practicing climate scientists, agreement that climate change is happening and is caused by humans is greater than 97 percent. « Climate change, COVID, and smoking are directly analogous situations as in each issue there is scientific consensus.
