EPA Administrator Zeldin Says Climate Projections Show Range of Outcomes

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Thursday that climate projections represent a range of possible outcomes rather than exact certainties. Speaking at the Great American State Fair, Zeldin told Fox News Digital that forecasts for 2050 or 2100 do not properly reflect the spectrum from optimistic to pessimistic scenarios.

"When someone looks at 2050 or 2100 and they say ‘This is exactly what the sea level is going to be.

This is what the temperature is going to be,’ it doesn't acknowledge correctly that there really is a range from the optimistic to the pessimistic," Zeldin said. Zeldin stated that relying on present-day facts rather than past assumptions is important. He added that ongoing data collection allows comparison between reality and earlier predictions.

He said disagreement with a specific long-term temperature forecast should not automatically result in labeling someone a science denier. Fox News reported that the Trump administration has moved to revisit the EPA's 2009 Endangerment Finding and other greenhouse gas emissions rules adopted under previous Democratic administrations.

Zeldin has led re-evaluation of the 2009 finding since taking over the agency.