La negazione del riscaldamento globale (o del cambiamento climatico) è la negazione del consenso scientifico sul riscaldamento globale, o il dubbio su di esso.
I fautori della negazione usano comunemente tattiche retoriche per far apparire una controversia scientifica laddove in realtà non sussiste. Molti tra i negazionisti climatici si dichiarano "scettici" sul riscaldamento globale,. ma è un termine improprio.: "Many climate change deniers call themselves climate 'skeptics' ... However, refusing to accept the overwhelming 'preponderance of evidence' is not skepticism, it is denial and should be called by its true name ... The use of the term 'climate skeptic' is a distortion of reality ... Skepticism is healthy in both science and society; denial is not."
La negazione del riscaldamento globale comprende dubbi sulla misura in cui il cambiamento climatico sia causato dagli esseri umani, i suoi effetti su natura e società, e il potenziale di adattamento al riscaldamento globale nelle azioni umane. "The first pillar of climate change denial—that climate change is bad science—attacks various aspects of the scientific consensus about climate change ... there are climate change deniers:
who deny that significant climate change is occurring who ... deny that human activity is significantly responsible who ... deny the scientific evidence about its significant effects on the world and our society ... who ... deny that humans can take significant actions to reduce or mitigate its impact. Of these varieties of climate change denial, the most visible are the first and the second.": "Anatomy of Denial—Global warming deniers ... . throw up a succession of claims, and fall back from one line of defense to the next as scientists refute each one in turn. Then they start over:'The earth is not warming.''All right, it is warming but the Sun is the cause.''Well then, humans are the cause, but it doesn't matter, because it warming will do no harm. More carbon dioxide will actually be beneficial. More crops will grow.''Admittedly, global warming could turn out to be harmful, but we can do nothing about it.''Sure, we could do something about global warming, but the cost would be too great. We have more pressing problems here and now, like AIDS and poverty.''We might be able to afford to do something to address global warming some-day, but we need to wait for sound science, new technologies, and geoengineering.''The earth is not warming. Global warming ended in 1998; it was never a crisis.' In misura minore, la negazione che il riscaldamento globale sia di origine antropica è implicita quando le persone accettano il metodo scientifico ma non trovano che le conclusioni a cui giunge gran parte degli studiosi sia compatibile con le proprie conoscenze ed esperienze sull'argomento (dissonanza cognitiva).: "Climate change denial is most conspicuous when it is explicit, as it is in controversies over climate education. The idea of implicit (or "implicatory") denial, however, is increasingly discussed among those who study the controversies over climate change. Implicit denial occurs when people who accept the scientific community's consensus on the answers to the central questions of climate change on the intellectual level fail to come to terms with it or to translate their acceptance into action. Such people are in denial, so to speak, about climate change." Alcuni studi di scienze sociali hanno analizzato queste posizioni come forme di negazionismo,: "There is debate over which term is most appropriate ... Those involved in challenging climate science label themselves 'skeptics' ... Yet skepticism is ... a common characteristic of scientists, making it inappropriate to allow those who deny AGW to don the mantle of skeptics ... It seems best to think of skepticism-denial as a continuum, with some individuals (and interest groups) holding a skeptical view of AGW ... and others in complete denial". pseudoscienza, o propaganda.: "Conservative think tanks ... and their backers launched a full-scale counter-movement ... We suggest that this counter-movement has been central to the reversal of US support for environmental protection, both domestically and internationally. Its major tactic has been disputing the seriousness of environmental problems and undermining environmental science by promoting what we term 'environmental scepticism.'"
La cospirazione per inficiare la fiducia del pubblico nella scienza climatica è organizzata da interessi industriali, politici e e ideologici.: "From the outset, there has been an organized 'disinformation' campaign ... to 'manufacture uncertainty' over AGW ... especially by attacking climate science and scientists ... waged by a loose coalition of industrial (especially fossil fuels) interests and conservative foundations and think tanks ... often assisted by a small number of contrarian scientists. ... greatly aided by conservative media and politicians . and more recently by a bevy of skeptical bloggers. This 'denial machine' has played a crucial role in generating skepticism toward AGW among laypeople and policymakers".: "ICE and the Global Climate Coalition lobbied hard against a global treaty to curb greenhouse gases, and were joined by a central cog in the denial machine: the George C. Marshall Institute, a conservative think tank. ... the denial machine—think tanks linking up with like-minded, contrarian researchers" La negazione del riscaldamento globale è stata associata alla lobby dell'energia, ai fratelli Koch (Charles Koch e David Koch), a sostenitori dell'industria, think tank conservatori e organi di informazione alternativi di destra, spesso statunitensi.: "The campaign has been waged by a loose coalition of industrial (especially fossil fuels) interests and conservative foundations and think tanks ... These actors are greatly aided by conservative media and politicians, and more recently by a bevy of skeptical bloggers." Si descrivono le strategie di sostegno fondate sull'industria nel contesto della negazione del cambiamento climatico e il coinvolgimento dei think tank liberisti nella negazione del riscaldamento globale. Più del 90% dei saggi scettici sul cambiamento climatico provengono da think-tank di destra. La negazione del riscaldamento globale sta vanificando i tentativi di mitigazione climatica, ed esercita una potente influenza sulle politiche del cambiamento climatico e sull'artificiosa controversia sul riscaldamento globale.: "Even though climate science has now firmly established that global warming is occurring, that human activities contribute to this warming ... a significant portion of the American public remains ambivalent or unconcerned, and many policymakers (especially in the United States) deny the necessity of taking steps to reduce carbon emissions ... From the outset, there has been an organized 'disinformation' campaign ... to generate skepticism and denial concerning AGW.": "Despite a high degree of consensus amongst publishing climate researchers that global warming is occurring and that it is anthropogenic, this discourse, promoted largely by non-scientists, has had a significant impact on public perceptions of the issue, fostering the impression that elite opinion is divided as to the nature and extent of the threat."
Negli anni 1970 le compagnie petrolifere pubblicarono una finta ricerca scientifica che concordava largamente con la concezione della comunità scientifica sul riscaldamento globale. Da allora, per decenni, le compagnie petrolifere hanno organizzato un'ampia e sistematica campagna di negazione del cambiamento climatico per seminare pubblica disinformazione, una strategia che mostra affinità con l'elaborata negazione dei rischi da tabagismo animata dall'industria del tabacco. Alcune campagne furono addirittura svolte dagli stessi soggetti che in precedenza avevano diffuso la campagna negazionista dell'industria del tabacco.
Terminologia "Scetticismo sul cambiamento climatico" e "negazione del cambiamento climatico" si riferiscono a negazione, sottovalutazione o dubbio ingiustificato riguardo al consenso scientifico su stima e portata del riscaldamento globale, suo significato, o sua connessione al comportamento umano, in tutto o in parte.: "'Climate skepticism' and 'climate denial' are readily used concepts, referring to a discourse that has become important in public debate since climate change was first put firmly on the policy agenda in 1988. This discourse challenges the views of mainstream climate scientists and environmental policy advocates, contending that parts, or all, of the scientific treatment and political interpretation of climate change are unreliable."
Benché esista una distinzione tra scetticismo, che significa dubitare della verità di un'asserzione, e la franca negazione della verità di un'asserzione, nel dibattito pubblico frasi come "scetticismo climatico" sono state spesso usate come sinonimo di negazionismo climatico o "contrarismo".: "Climate scepticism in the sense of climate denialism or contrarianism is not a new phenomenon, but it has recently been very much in the media spotlight. ... Such disagreements are not new but the emails provided climate sceptics, in the sense of deniers or contrarians, with a golden opportunity to mount a sustained effort aimed at demonstrating the legitimacy of their views. This allowed them to question climate science and climate policies based on it and to promote political inaction and inertia. ... footnote 1. I shall use 'climate sceptics' here in the sense of 'climate deniers', although there are obvious differences between scepticism and denial (see Shermer, 2010; Kemp, et al., 2010). However, 'climate sceptic' and 'climate scepticism' were commonly used during the 'climategate' debate as meaning 'climate denier'.": "Within the community of scientists and others concerned about anthropogenic climate change, those whom Inhofe calls skeptics are more commonly termed contrarians, naysayers and denialists."