Climate Change Not ‘Greatest Threat,’ US Energy Secretary Says

The Energy Department said Tuesday that carbon dioxide-induced warming of the planet “appears to be less damaging economically than commonly believed,” and that aggressive action to mitigate the threat “could be more harmful than beneficial.”

The findings, published in a new report, add that the impacts of domestic policy actions to fight climate change will likely have “undetectably small” direct impacts on the global climate, and any effects will emerge “only with long delays.”

Those conclusions were cited by the EPA in its Tuesday proposal to do away with the federal government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases and reverse ...