The scientist who walked away from the climate consensus

Nature · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Judith Curry was a titan of atmospheric science, holding prestigious roles at NASA and the National Academies. Yet, she became one of the most controversial figures in her field, eventually retiring from academia to protest what she called the "poisonous nature" of mainstream climate science.

Judith Curry's career is marked by high-level achievement. While leading the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, she also occupied prominent roles within the National Academies Climate Research Group and the NASA Advisory Council. Her research has spanned hurricanes, polar climates, and atmospheric modeling, earning her numerous accolades, including a 1988 Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation.

Her shift toward "neo-skepticism" began after she felt the climate community adopted a "fortress mentality," refusing to engage with outsiders. While she acknowledges that the planet is warming due to human-generated greenhouse gases and admits that worst-case scenarios could be catastrophic, she argues that the rate of warming is slower than many models project. She emphasizes the high degree of uncertainty in climate projections and has testified before Congress that the variability of natural climate systems makes emission reductions potentially "pointless."

This transition led to sharp friction with her peers. While Curry argues she is trying to avoid "groupthink" and "anti-skeptic bias," other scientists have characterized her stance as "confusionism" and "denialism." In 2018, she submitted a report arguing that sea level rise has been a "slow creep" unaffected by human activity—a position that places her outside the academic consensus. Today, she operates a climate-risk consulting company and continues to advocate for focusing on climate vulnerabilities rather than just mitigation.

In 2025, Curry was appointed to a Department of Energy Climate Working Group. This group released a report suggesting that rising CO2 is less economically damaging than commonly believed, a finding that was immediately met with a 434-page rebuttal from 85 other scientists who accused the group of cherry-picking evidence and having a predetermined outcome.

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