Column: It’s no debate that humans cause climate woes

Efforts to manufacture a climate debate where none exists is not only intellectually dishonest but also dangerously irresponsible (“Be practical about isle climate policy,” Island Voices, Oct. 19). The overwhelming consensus of climate scientists, supported by thousands of peer-reviewed studies and endorsed by every major scientific body worldwide, confirms that human activity — particularly the emission of greenhouse gases like CO2 — is the driver of recent global warming. Attempting to create a false equivalency between well-established scientific fact and discredited skepticism profoundly misunderstands, or deliberately ignores, the immense body of legitimate scientific literature.

This is a textbook example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, where individuals or groups vastly overestimate their understanding of a complex subject, despite lacking the expertise needed to interpret the data and research. Such rhetoric is blind to the mountain of evidence that continues to mount year after year — from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s comprehensive assessments, to the real-world impacts observed in Hawaii and globally.

The evidence of human-driven climate change is no longer a subject for debate in the scientific community. Bodies such as the IPCC, NASA, the American Geophysical Union and the National Academy of Sciences have all emphatically rejected the notion of a substantive “climate debate.” These institutions declare that the warming of the climate system is “unequivocal,” “virtually certain” to be caused by human activity, and that natural forces alone cannot account for the observed changes.

Conversely, misinformation efforts source their positions from biased and cherry-picked data, conspiracy theories and fossil fuel-funded campaigns designed to manufacture doubt. This tactic is well-documented as a strategy employed by the fossil fuel industry and its allies, who have funneled millions into think tanks, front groups and disinformation networks to slow urgent climate action.

In refusing to accept scientific consensus, these groups not only mislead the public but also undermine Hawaii’s ability to confront real and escalating risks. Hawaii is uniquely vulnerable to climate impacts such as sea-level rise, deepening drought, heightened storm intensity, reduced rainfall, and others. Scientific data specific to Hawaii documents these ongoing damages and warns of worsening conditions if global warming continues unchecked.

Denying or downplaying this reality dangerously delays the critical work of building resilient island communities and adapting to inevitable changes. This refusal plays into the exact harm the scientific community has warned against: the closing window to secure a livable and sustainable future is narrowing rapidly.

Moreover, in its Oct. 19 commentary, the Practical Policy Institute’s shortsighted framing that local emissions reductions in Hawaii are futile because the state’s share of global emissions is small ignores how climate systems and policy work globally. Fighting climate change demands collective leadership at every scale, and Hawaii’s clean energy policies have already generated economic benefits, job growth and energy security by reducing costly fossil fuel dependence. Delaying action based on false debates only prolongs Hawaii’s vulnerability to volatile oil markets and climate disruptions, while erecting barriers to innovation and progress.

To continue promoting a false “debate” over settled science is to contribute to a global pattern of misinformation and climate disinformation that stalls urgent mitigation and adaptation efforts worldwide. Such intellectual dishonesty is matched only by its ethical failure. The legacy of climate denial is not just confusion, but the exacerbation of injustice and suffering, especially for vulnerable communities like those in Hawaii. It is imperative for policymakers, community leaders and the public to reject these obsolete arguments, ground decisions firmly in the robust scientific consensus, and prioritize evidence-based solutions that both reduce emissions and build resilient, adaptive communities.

Hawaii cannot afford disinformation to derail its climate leadership or jeopardize its future. It is time to move beyond manufactured doubt and embrace the rigorous, consensus-backed science that offers the best path to a safer, healthier, and more sustainable Hawaii.

Charles “Chip” Fletcher is dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii-Manoa.