According to a recent study of statements by current members of Congress, a total of 123 federal representatives, including 100 representatives and 23 senators, deny the existence of human-caused climate change.

“This is really worrying,” said Kat So, director of energy and environmental campaigns at the Center for American Progress, which wrote the report.

The report defines climate change deniers as those who say the climate crisis isn't real or isn't caused by humans, or claim that extreme weather isn't caused by global warming.

The report also highlights examples of climate change denialists in the US Congress. Texas Senator Ted Cruz said in 2018: “Of course the climate is changing. The climate has been changing since the beginning of time and will continue to change as long as the Earth exists.”

The report also found that climate change-denying lawmakers have received a combined $52 million in lifetime campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry.

However, the percentage of lawmakers who deny the climate crisis has been declining in recent years. Just five years ago, 150 lawmakers denied the crisis. Many elected officials who do not deny the crisis still use anti-climate rhetoric and work to block policies that limit greenhouse gases.

Although 23% of US Congress members reject the climate crisis, polls show that the American public has moved significantly in the opposite direction.

According to multiple studies, fewer than one in five people in the US reject the findings of climate science, with a long-running Yale University poll finding that those who "ignore" are just 11%.

Meanwhile, a larger group is increasingly concerned about the climate crisis after a series of record-breaking hot years and a spate of wildfires, hurricanes and other climate-related events. Surveys from Yale University show that more than half of Americans are now “alarmed” or “concerned” about climate change.

Hoai Phuong (according to Guardian)