Public has until Sept. 2 to comment on DOE report finding increased CO2 is ‘greening the planet’
The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking public comment on its 151-page draft report finding that increased concentrations of CO2 emissions will contribute to the “greening of the planet” and make the oceans more acidic, but it is uncertain what negative affects, such as extreme weather and destruction of coral reefs, will have in coming decades. To read the Federal Register notice, the report and the critical comments of several climate scientists below.
The Federal Register announcement seeking comment:
Written comments and information are requested on or before September 2, 2025 and must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern time (ET) on that date. Written submissions received after the deadline may not be considered. DOE will not reply individually to responders but will consider all comments submitted by the deadline. DOE also intends to summarize all comments received by topic.
ADDRESSES:
Instructions: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov under docket number DOE-HQ-2025-0207.
Response Guidance: Any comments provided must reference the relevant page in the CWG Report. If a comment addresses a table or figure, that cross-reference should be provided. To assist DOE’s review of submitted comments, for each comment, please indicate a comment type from the following list: editorial; technical; reference; or other.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information may be submitted electronically to Mr. Joshua Loucks, U.S. Department of Energy,1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585; (202) 586-5281 or DOEGeneralCounsel@hq.doe.gov.
Background
The draft report titled “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate” was developed by DOE’s 2025 Climate Working Group, a group of five independent scientists assembled by Energy Secretary Chris Wright with diverse expertise in physical science, academic research and climate science. The landing page for the CWG Report, including a press release, can be found here: www.energy.gov/topics/climate.
Overview of the CWG Report
The report reviews scientific certainties and uncertainties in how anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions have affected, or will affect, the Nation’s climate, extreme weather events, and selected metrics of societal well-being. Those emissions are increasing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere through a complex and variable carbon cycle, where some portion of the additional CO2 persists in the atmosphere for centuries.
Elevated concentrations of CO2 directly enhance plant growth, globally contributing to “greening” the planet and increasing agricultural productivity. They also make the oceans less alkaline (lower the pH). That is possibly detrimental to coral reefs, although the recent rebound of the Great Barrier Reef suggests otherwise.
Carbon dioxide also acts as a greenhouse gas, exerting a warming influence on climate and weather. Climate change projections require scenarios of future emissions. There is evidence that scenarios widely-used in the impacts literature have overstated observed and likely future emission trends.
The world’s several dozen global climate models offer little guidance on how much the climate responds to elevated CO2, with the average surface warming under a doubling of the CO2 concentration ranging from 1.8° C to 5.7° C. Data-driven methods yield a lower and narrower range. Global climate models generally run “hot” in their description of the climate of the past few decades. The combination of overly sensitive models and implausible extreme scenarios for future emissions yields exaggerated projections of future warming.
Most extreme weather events in the U.S. do not show long-term trends. Claims of increased frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and droughts are not supported by U.S. historical data. Additionally, forest management practices are often overlooked in assessing changes in wildfire activity. Global sea level has risen approximately 8 inches since 1900, but there are significant regional variations driven primarily by local land subsidence; U.S. tide gauge measurements in aggregate show no obvious acceleration in sea level rise beyond the historical average rate.
Attribution of climate change or extreme weather events to human CO2 emissions is challenged by natural climate variability, data limitations, and inherent model deficiencies. Moreover, solar activity’s contribution to the late 20th century warming might be underestimated.
Both models and experience suggest that CO2 -induced warming might be less damaging economically than commonly believed, and excessively aggressive mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial. Social Cost of Carbon estimates, which attempt to quantify the economic damage of CO2 emissions, are highly sensitive to their underlying assumptions and so provide limited independent information.
U.S. policy actions are expected to have undetectably small direct impacts on the global climate and any effects will emerge only with long delays.
Confidential Business Information
Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via email, postal mail, or hand delivery/courier two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked “confidential” including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked “non-confidential” with the information believed to be confidential deleted. DOE will make its own determination about the confidential status of the information and treat it according to its determination.
It is DOE’s policy that all comments may be included in the public docket, without change and as received, including any personal information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be exempt from public disclosure).
Read the full report: The Department of Energy Report Impact of GHG emissions on U.S. Climate
Read the scientists’ fact-checking report: Fact-checking by climate scientists on DOE report — More than 100 false and misleading statements