A new federal report linking human-driven climate change to extreme weather events has come under scrutiny for acknowledging contributions from a lawyer and researchers involved in lawsuits against oil companies, raising concerns about potential bias. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, released Thursday, concludes that "human-caused changes to the thermodynamics of the climate system have a direct and well-understood impact on extreme temperatures, extreme rainfall, and compound hot-dry events." Legal experts suggest the findings could bolster lawsuits seeking to hold energy firms financially responsible for climate-related damages.
Legal Implications and Funding Ties
The report acknowledges Michael Burger, a legal scholar and of counsel at Sher Edling, a law firm suing major oil companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil on behalf of Democratic-led states and cities. Burger, listed in the report as affiliated with Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, did not disclose his role at Sher Edling despite informing NASEM of his involvement in litigation during a 2024 presentation. The firm's lawsuits represent jurisdictions housing roughly a quarter of the U.S. population.
NASEM also cites research from Climate Central, a nonprofit whose funders include left-leaning charities that have collectively donated $26.5 million to support anti-oil litigation since 2017. Climate Central's methodology for linking specific weather events to climate change has faced criticism as politically motivated. The Heising-Simons Foundation, which funded the NASEM report, is tied to the America Is All In coalition, a group led by former Biden climate official Gina McCarthy and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) advocating for aggressive emissions cuts.
Experts warn the report's ties to ongoing litigation could undermine its credibility. "All of it is very suspicious and too convenient," constitutional law scholar John Shu told the Washington Free Beacon. "They have a serious credibility problem plus the fact that they're trying to obscure the people who are involved, and all of their affiliations, because they have a clear conflict of interest." The report's release precedes a critical Supreme Court hearing in July 2026 on whether cases like County of Boulder v. ExxonMobil can proceed, setting a potential precedent for similar lawsuits seeking billions in damages.
The controversy echoes past criticism of NASEM's climate work. In 2023, the Federal Judicial Center removed a climate chapter co-authored by Burger from its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence after Republican lawmakers and attorneys general questioned its objectivity. Critics argue the latest report risks further eroding public trust in scientific institutions by blurring lines between research and advocacy.