In 2025, Brad Sherman publicly claimed “CO₂ doesn’t hurt our atmosphere” and dismissed climate action as a “green scam,” despite federal research documenting the long-term environmental and public health risks of carbon dioxide.
¶ Brad Sherman Denied Climate Science And Falsely Claimed Carbon Dioxide Did Not Impact The Atmosphere
¶ Brad Sherman Called Climate Action A “Green Scam” And Said “CO2 Doesn’t Hurt Our Atmosphere”
September 2025: Brad Sherman Called Climate Action A “Green Scam” And Said “CO2 Doesn’t Hurt Our Atmosphere.” According to the Des Moines Register, “Former State Rep. Brad Sherman opposed Reynolds’ veto of the eminent domain bill. […] ‘A private company who's not a common carrier for a product that's not a public utility should never get eminent domain. Ever,’ he said at a candidate forum July 31. Sherman has spoken out against the use of eminent domain as well as the pipeline itself.’ ‘CO2 doesn't hurt our atmosphere,’ he said. ‘That's a green scam. And we've been we've been intimidated into giving in to this whole green scam thing long enough.’” [Des Moines Register, 9/10/25]
- NOAA Research: Fossil Fuel Emissions Attributed To Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels And Created Long-Term Climate Risks And Greater Risks Of Illness And Death. According to NOAA Research, “Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have varied naturally throughout Earth’s history. However, current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are comparable to what levels were around 4.3 million years ago during the mid-Pliocene epoch. Burning fossil fuels is a major culprit of rising emissions because fossil fuels contain carbon that plants pulled out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis over millions of years. Now, we are releasing that carbon to the atmosphere in less than 200 years. About half of the carbon dioxide humans release into the air is absorbed at Earth’s surface, split roughly equally between land and ocean. About half of the carbon dioxide humans release into the air stays in the atmosphere for up to thousands of years. In addition to warming temperatures, rising carbon dioxide levels can cause increased hurricane intensity, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and social inequities experienced by underserved and overburdened communities that face higher risks of illness and death from extreme heat. If global energy demand continues to grow rapidly and we meet it mostly with fossil fuels, human emissions of carbon dioxide could reach 75 billion tons per year or more by the end of the century.” [NOAA Research, 6/28/24]