Judge Barrett signaled today to the Senate Judiciary Committee that she believes climate change is a matter of politics not science...

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“I don’t think that my views on global warming or climate change are relevant to the job I would do as a judge.” - Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Dear friends,

Earlier today, Judge Barrett offered the above response to Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) when asked about climate change. Later in the afternoon, in an exchange with Senator Kamala Harris ([link removed]) , Judge Barrett was asked whether she believed that COVID-19 was infectious, whether smoking causes cancer, and whether climate change is real. Here is part of their exchange:

Senator Harris: “Do you believe climate change is happening and is threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink?”

Judge Barrett: “…You have asked me a series of questions that are completely uncontroversial like whether COVID-19 is infectious, whether smoking causes cancer, and then trying to analogize that to eliciting…. an opinion from me that is on a very contentious matter of public debate and I will not do that. I will not express a view on a matter of public policy, especially one that is politically controversial because that’s inconsistent with the judicial role as I have explained.” (emphasis ours)

Judge Barrett signaled today to the Senate Judiciary Committee that she believes climate change is a matter of politics not science. We vehemently disagree. We expect lifetime jurists on our nation’s highest court to understand and respect what is overwhelmingly established scientific fact ([link removed]) : Climate change is real and it is caused by human activity.

Judge Barrett answered questions today about the scientific reality of COVID-19 even while religious freedom cases challenging governmental COVID-19 policies are working their way through multiple courts and could end up in the Supreme Court. We understand she can’t comment on government climate policies, but she should be able to truthfully answer questions on the scientific reality of climate change.

And it isn’t just scientists who know this. Alongside the world’s governments, scientists, children, and faith leaders, Pope Francis, in Laudato Si and more recently in Fratelli Tutti has said that climate change is the most serious issue facing humanity. Just this week, the Pope said ([link removed]) that science tells us every day “that urgent action is needed . . . if we are to keep the hope of avoiding radical and catastrophic climate change. And for this we must act now. This is a scientific fact.”

Before any vote is taken, Judge Barrett needs to clarify her opinion on and understanding of climate science and whether she would respect credible scientific evidence in cases before her. Contrary to what her responses at the hearings suggest, Supreme Court Justices don’t just interpret the law, and they don’t avoid hearing cases on issues they might view as being contentious; instead they apply law to the facts and evidence, even when it involves complex areas of science.

Our Children’s Trust has sent questions ([link removed]) to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, demanding answers on Judge Barrett’s understanding of climate science and whether she would respect expert evidence in cases before her, as well as the constitutional rights of children. We are grateful to Senators Harris and Blumenthal for asking some of those questions today. Now we need your help!

Call and/or email ([link removed]) your Senators today and urge them to vote NO if the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett is advanced to a vote. This nomination process has been far too rushed and we have far too many questions left unanswered on critically important issues like the science of climate change. And if Judge Barrett cannot accept undisputed evidence like climate science, then she is not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court, where scientific evidence is commonplace.

We need Judge Barrett's honest and full opinions on climate change. We need judges who have respect for science and credible scientific evidence in cases before the Court. The Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment and climate change is the most important issue of our lifetime. Judge Barrett stated this afternoon that part of her reason for proceeding with her nomination is "to protect our institutions and protect the freedoms and protect the rule of law that’s the basis for the society and the freedom that we all enjoy...for our children and our children’s children." We need answers on whether this protection includes children's rights to a science-based decision and equal protection of the law for our youth.


Thank you for joining us in this urgent call to action,

The team at Our Children’s Trust

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