While scientists confirmed that March marked the hottest month on record for the United States, a conference in Washington celebrated the ascendancy of climate denial in federal policy. The gathering, hosted by the Heartland Institute near the White House, drew dozens of skeptics and outright deniers who claimed vindication for rejecting the scientific consensus on global warming.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin served as the keynote speaker, framing the moment as a turning point. "It is a day to celebrate vindication," he said Wednesday morning, attacking what he called the "cabal" of elites who had previously promoted climate science to advance their agenda. Under the current administration, he said, officials would no longer follow "blind obedience" to climate warnings.
The contrast between the conference floor and the broader scientific reality was stark. Attendees browsed displays proclaiming "CO2 is a lifesaver" and "Fossil fuels are the greenest energy source." Merchandise bearing slogans like "There is no climate crisis" and "Unashamed about my carbon footprint" filled tables. James Taylor, president of the Heartland Institute, told attendees: "I feel wonderful. The truth is winning out."
Yet the scientific record tells a different story. There is overwhelming consensus that global warming is real, urgent, and caused primarily by burning fossil fuels. When asked how he squared his position with this consensus, Taylor acknowledged humans have played a role in climate change but insisted this was "a far cry" from accepting a climate crisis exists.
The conference revealed how thoroughly climate denial groups have infiltrated Trump's second administration. Zeldin's appearance underscored their influence. Trump also reportedly considered Zeldin for attorney general. During the previous Trump presidency, a Heartland Institute founder advised the White House on its Paris Climate Accord withdrawal. The group contributed to Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for Trump's agenda, and Trump has already acted on its priorities, including efforts to repeal the EPA's "endangerment finding," the legal basis for most U.S. climate regulations.
Other groups represented at the conference have shown tangible influence as well. The CO2 Coalition helped form a White House committee questioning climate science in Trump's first term. CFACT, another co-sponsor, claims credit for canceling federal funding for a California offshore wind project after the group raised objections. Last month, the CO2 Coalition successfully helped nominate an ophthalmologist with no air pollution expertise to a key EPA committee.
Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard historian of science who has tracked climate denial for two decades, said the dynamic represents a sharp reversal. "Twenty years ago it would have been shocking for the EPA administrator to take seriously a group of people whose positions are so patently at odds with all of the scientific evidence," she said. "But essentially, climate deniers are in charge now."
Oreskes also noted the funding contradictions underlying the movement's claims to represent underdogs fighting powerful elites. The Heartland Institute has received support from Shell and ExxonMobil, as well as the Mercers, a family of Republican mega-donors. When asked about current funding, Taylor called the question "curious and disappointing" but said the group would gladly accept oil company money again, claiming big oil now supports the UN climate agenda instead.
Yet public opinion remains at odds with the conference's triumphalism. Polls show the vast majority of Americans believe in climate change, especially younger voters. A recent survey found 42 percent of young Republicans accept climate science. Anxiety about youth's climate concerns was evident in a panel titled "Bringing Youth into the Climate Realist Fold," where speakers discussed how to counter what they saw as indoctrination of young people into climate activism.
The panel was disrupted by Climate Defiance activists, one of whom sarcastically shouted "Yo, how's it going my fellow youths" before being removed. An anonymous organizer of the protest said the action targeted the panel's message that climate denial represents mere "difference of opinions" rather than dangerous misinformation likely to harm future generations most severely.
Author James Rodriguez: "The spectacle of climate denial activists celebrating newfound power while scientific reality accelerates around them is less a sign of strength than a warning about how quickly institutional guardrails can collapse."
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