Fact brief – Was ‘global warming’ changed to ‘climate change’ because Earth stopped warming?
Posted on 31 May 2025 by Sue Bin Park
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Was ‘global warming’ changed to ‘climate change’ because Earth stopped warming?
Both “global warming” and “climate change” continue to be used as global temperatures continue to rise.
The two terms refer to different but related phenomena. Global warming captures increasing average global temperatures observed since the Industrial Revolution. Climate change speaks to the various environmental outcomes of this warming.
The last ten years (2015-2024) were the ten hottest on record, with 2024 breaking the record set in 2023. The last colder-than-average year was 1976. Climate scientists calculate global temperatures by averaging readings from thousands of weather stations, ships, buoys, and satellites around the world.
The 1956 paper “The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climatic Change” outlined CO2’s role in altering climate. Google Books indicates usage of “climate change” predated and surpassed “global warming” since the 1980s.
The only notable political push to favor “climate change” was a 2002 Bush administration memo that claimed the term was “less frightening” than “global warming.”
Go to full rebuttal on Skeptical Science or to the fact brief on Gigafact
This fact brief is responsive to quotes such as this one.
Sources
The Washington Post Debunking the claim ‘they’ changed ‘global warming’ to ‘climate change’ because warming stopped
CNN Is it climate change or global warming? How science and a secret memo shaped the answer
Tellus Journal The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climatic Change
IPCC History of the IPCC
Google Books Ngram Viewer Climate change, global warming
The Luntz Research Companies The Environment: A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier America
About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact — a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all of our published fact briefs here.
