The Environmental Protection Agency, which is led by administrator Lee Zeldin, has altered and removed information from its website that connected climate change to the burning of fossil fuels.
The changes come as the Trump administration tries to supercharge US oil and gas production and resurrect the coal industry. Now, the EPA's webpage detailing the 'causes of climate change' no longer lists human activities such as burning oil, gas and coal — the key drivers of a warming climate since the industrial revolution.
Other EPA webpages, including one explaining the 'future of climate change,' still mention the link between humans burning fossil fuels and a changing climate.
The 'causes of climate change' page, for example, now reads, "Natural processes are always influencing the earth's climate and can explain climate changes prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s," before listing such issues as changes in Earth's orbit, variations in solar activity and volcanic activity. "However, recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone."
Previously, that webpage contained an entire section on the human causes of climate change and cited the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's statement that "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land." That section is now missing.
The changes have alarmed climate scientists.
"This isn't just about data on a website; it's an attack on independent science and scientific integrity," Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists said in a statement.
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Amid uneven global decarbonisation, supply chains are evolving to accommodate low carbon construction materials and net zero whole life carbon benchmarks. The most competitive teams are uniting green construction and sustainable urban development approaches that measure the environmental impact of construction and demonstrate continual carbon footprint of construction reduction. By embedding circular economy frameworks into the design, delivery and end‑of‑life reuse in construction, the sector is progressing toward authentic carbon neutral construction and a built environment driven by sustainability and long‑term performance.
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