BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new peer-reviewed article by Dr. Patrick Brown, Co-Director of the Climate and Energy Team at The Breakthrough Institute, argues that a genre of studies that purports to blame large portions of extreme weather impacts on climate change are based on a fundamental category error.
In his article published in Climatic Change titled, “When the fraction of attributable risk does not inform the impact associated with anthropogenic climate change,” Brown contends that this error has to do with a miscategorization of weather and climate phenomena as discrete countable events rather than recognizing the reality that those phenomena are on a continuum of intensity.
In perhaps the most high-profile instance of this mischaracterization to date, a study that made global headlines inflated the economic damages from Hurricane Harvey that could be blamed on climate change by a factor of five.
“Overall, the mischaracterization of weather and climate phenomena on a continuum as discrete countable events has misinformed the conversation leaving the public and policymakers with the impression that climate change is responsible for a much higher portion of extreme weather and its impacts than it actually is,” said Brown. “If we want science to regain trust and for policy decisions to be made on the most accurate information, the relationship between climate change and extreme weather much be quantified and communicated as accurately as possible.”
To read the synopsis of Brown’s peer-reviewed article, please visit: Turning Down the Temperature on Extreme Claims About Extreme Weather
About The Breakthrough Institute
The Breakthrough Institute is an environmental research center based in Berkeley, California. Our research focuses on identifying and promoting technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges in three areas: energy, conservation, and food and farming. For additional information about the Breakthrough Institute, please visit: https://thebreakthrough.org
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