Waterloo Region: Global issues
Science Unsettled A new study undermines net zero models and bolsters calls for council accountability. Municipalities across Canada are increasingly questioning costly, top-down Net Zero climate frameworks and a new per-reviewed study has just given them more scientific ground to stand on. A May 2025 paper published in Science of Climate Change, led by forecasting expert Dr. Kersten Green and Dr Willie Soon, reveals what many local residents have suspected for years: IPCC climate models used to justify UN driven NET Zero policies -including those advanced by FCM, ICLEI, and the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) may be fundamentally unreliable. Models relying on the IPCC's "human emissions" variable showed massive errors - up to 20*C in some historical forecasts. Meanwhile, models using solar and natural factors- excluded by most net Zero frameworks- consistently matched historical data within a narrow 1*C range. This means that the so called "settled science" justifying carbon pricing, GHG tracking, and rural land -use restrictions is far from settled. The report found that the IPCC style models were unable to establish a meaningful casual relationship between human carbon dioxide emissions and rising temperatures - especially prior to 1970. Instead, solar irradiance and other natural variables showed a much stronger correlation.
For Canadian municipalities, this reinforces growing concerns about being bound to international programs with major financial and policy implication-without scientific certainity, local consultation, or democratic consent.