Andrew Dessler

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Climate scientist (born 1964)

title: "Andrew Dessler" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-meteorologists", "living-people", "rice-university-alumni", "harvard-graduate-school-of-arts-and-sciences-alumni", "texas-a&m-university-faculty", "1964-births", "scientists-from-houston", "atmospheric-chemists", "university-of-maryland,-college-park-faculty", "fellows-of-the-american-geophysical-union"] description: "Climate scientist (born 1964)" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Dessler" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Climate scientist (born 1964) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox scientist"]

FieldValue
nameAndrew Dessler
imageAndrew Dessler20080918 05.jpg
birth_date
birth_placeHouston, Texas, U.S.
fieldsAtmospheric Science, climatology
workplacesUniversity of Maryland,
Texas A&M University
alma_materRice University,
Harvard University
thesis_titleIn situ stratospheric ozone measurements
thesis_year1994
doctoral_advisorJames G. Anderson
signature
website
module{{Listen
embedyes
filenameAndrew Dessler.ogg
titleAndrew Dessler's voice
typespeech
descriptionrecorded in February 2014
::

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Andrew Emory Dessler (born 1964) is a climate scientist. He is Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Director of the Texas Center for Extreme Weather. His research subject areas include climate impacts, global climate physics, atmospheric chemistry, climate change and climate change policy.

Early life and education

Dessler was born in 1964, in Houston, Texas. His father was Alexander J. Dessler, a planetary physicist then at Rice University. He received a B.A. in physics from Rice University in 1986 and an M.A. and Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1990 and 1994. His doctoral thesis was titled In situ stratospheric ozone measurements.

Career

After receiving a Ph.D. in 1994 from Rice University, Dessler did two years of Postdoctoral research at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and then spent nine years on the research faculty of the University of Maryland from 1996 to 2005. Dessler went on to become an Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University from 2005 to 2007 and has been a tenured Professor of Atmospheric Sciences there since 2007.

Climate research

In 2004, The New York Times said the results of his 2004 article in the Journal of Climate written with Ken Minschwaner placed them, "in the middle between the skeptics and those who argue that warming caused by burning of fossil fuels could be extremely severe." The authors subsequently wrote a joint letter to the editor in response objecting to the impression given by the article that their "research goes against the consensus scientific view that global warming is a serious concern."

Later research, published in a 2009 article in Science showed "warming from rising carbon dioxide should also lead to increased water vapor and additional warming, doubling the warming effect of the carbon dioxide." according to Kenneth Chang of The New York Times.

In 2011, an article in The New York Times examining the theory that clouds might offset the effects of increased greenhouse gasses found that his analysis in a 2011 article in Geophysical Research Letters "offered some evidence that clouds will exacerbate the long-term planetary warming" Following the publication of the article "Dessler became a target of climate science critics" and was interviewed on the PBS show Frontline for the episode "Climate of Doubt" which explored "the massive shift in public opinion on climate change." As a visiting fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in 2013 and 2014 he is undertaking a project titled, "Understanding long-term variations in stratospheric water vapor." In a November 2013 article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Dessler and colleagues provide observational evidence of a positive feedback effect of stratospheric water vapor and global warming.

Public Policy

Dessler was a policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for the final year of the Clinton administration. On January 16, 2014 he testified before the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Dessler has written op-eds on climate change, and has been consulted by newspapers and has given talks on climate change and government policy.

DOE Climate Working Group response

On July 29, 2025, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) released a report entitled A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate prepared by its newly-formed Climate Working Group, which consisted of five scientists hand-picked by the Trump administration for their longstanding and vocal contrarian views of climate change. On the same day it was released, the report was cited in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement that was seeking to rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding, which had concluded that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health, and which underpins the U.S. government's legal authority to combat climate change.

In response, Dessler and fellow climate scientist Robert Kopp led a group of more than 85 scientists to write a 434-page rebuttal of the DOE document, which was submitted to the DOE, the EPA, and the National Academies. The rebuttal argued that the DOE report's principal conclusions—including claims that there are no significant trends in extreme weather and that carbon dioxide provides broad societal benefits—were misleading or incorrect. According to the rebuttal, the DOE report reached these conclusions through selective use of evidence, emphasis on uncertainties, misrepresentation of peer-reviewed research, and dismissal of decades of established scientific findings.

Books

Dessler and Edward Parson co-authored, The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate in 2006 (2nd ed. 2009). It was described It was described as, "a fascinating hybrid of science and policy directed at a broad or nonspecialist audience" by Wendy Gordon in a 2008 review in Eos. Gordon's review was positive concluding, "I could comfortably recommend this book to friend and colleagues." and that it would be "an excellent resource for a high school of college-level survey course in either environmental studies or public policy." It also received a favorable review in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society by Paul Higgins. Higgins noted the book's, "careful reasoning and thoughtful presentation" and stated it was a sound guide to the climate change debate. Concluding a generally positive review Randall Wigle writing in Canadian Public Policy stated, "...I believe it is a good candidate for a primer for multidisciplinary classes devoted to climate change policy, but it would have been an even better one with less advocacy of one side of the argument." Maria Ivanova wrote in Global Environmental Politics that the book's scholarly value was indisputable. Writing in New Scientist in 2006 Adrian Barnett said, "Free copies should be shipped to anyone who doubts the reality of climate change, starting with presidents in denial." The book also received very positive reviews in Chromatographia, the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Environmental Sciences.

In 2012 Dessler wrote Introduction to Modern Climate Change "a textbook for non-science majors that uniquely immerses the reader in the science, impacts, economics, policies and political debate associated with climate change." It received an award from the American Meteorological Society in 2014. It was favorably reviewed by Cameron Reed in Physics & Society who said, "The writing is clear, has a nice balance of formal and informal prose, and includes occasional elements of dry humor to lighten discussions of otherwise very serious issues." It is used in classes in environmental sciences and the science and policy of climate change.

Awards and honors

Selected Outreach

Dessler has engaged in public outreach through various channels, including social media, opinion editorials, and testimony before government bodies. His Substack newsletter is The Climate Brink, where he writes about climate science and energy.

Selected Talks and Podcasts

Publications

Books authored

  • Dessler 2012

Books co-authored

Dessler 2006

Selected articles

  • Minschwaner2004
  • Dessler2009

References

References

  1. "Profile: Dr. Andrew Dessler". [[Texas A&M College of Geosciences.
  2. (2009). "2009 Academic Program Review". Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Geosciences, Texas A&M University.
  3. Dessler, Andrew. (1994). "In situ stratospheric ozone measurements". [[Harvard University]].
  4. (2006). "4th International Conference on SF6 and the Environment: Speaker Biographies". [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]].
  5. "Contact Us". The College of Geosciences.
  6. "Home".
  7. . (March 18, 2004). ["Study disputes idea on global warming"](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/us/study-disputes-idea-on-global-warming.html). *[[The New York Times]]*.
  8. (March 23, 2004). "Global warming study". [[The New York Times]].
  9. Chang, Kenneth. (December 15, 2009). "Weather device also tracks greenhouse gas". [[The New York Times]].
  10. Gillis, Justin. (April 30, 2012). "Clouds' effect on climate change is last bastion for dissenters". [[The New York Times]].
  11. Dessler, Andrew E.. (October 1, 2011). "Cloud variations and the Earth's energy budget". [[Geophysical Research Letters]].
  12. Ogburn, Stephanie Paige. (January 21, 2014). "Climate scientists, facing skeptics' demands for personal emails, learn how to cope". [[Environment & Energy Publishing]].
  13. (October 23, 2012). "Climate of Doubt".
  14. "Andrew Dessler CIRES' Visiting Fellow". [[Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences]] (CIRES).
  15. (2013). "Stratospheric water vapor feedback". [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]].
  16. (September 30, 2013). "Water vapor in the upper atmosphere amplifies global warming". Chemical Sciences Division (CSD); [[Earth System Research Laboratories]]; [[Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research]]; [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA); [[United States Department of Commerce.
  17. Dessler, Andrew. (January 16, 2014). "Climate Change Policy". [[C-SPAN]].
  18. Dessler, Andrew. "What we know about climate change". [[United States Senate.
  19. "A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate".
  20. (September 2, 2025). "Trump team's contentious climate report 'makes a mockery of science', experts say".
  21. (13 August 2025). "Factcheck: Trump's climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims". Carbon Brief.
  22. (29 July 2025). "In Game-Changing Climate Rollback, E.P.A. Aims to Kill a Bedrock Scientific Finding". The New York Times.
  23. (30 August 2025). "Climate Experts' Review of the DOE Climate Working Group Report".
  24. (September 2, 2025). "Scientists Denounce Trump Administration's Climate Report".
  25. Simon, Julia. (2025-09-02). "Dozens of scientists find errors in a new Energy Department climate report". NPR.
  26. (2025-09-02). "Over 85 scientists say Energy Dept. climate report lacks merit". Reuters.
  27. Freedman, Andrew. (2025-09-02). "Climate scientists file a public, point-by-point rebuttal of Trump admin report casting doubt on climate change".
  28. Gordon, Wendy S.. (2008). "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate". [[Eos (journal).
  29. Higgins, Paul A.T.. (2007). "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate". [[Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society]].
  30. Wigle, Randall M.. (2006). "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate". Canadian Public Policy.
  31. Ivanova, Maria. (2007). "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate". [[Global Environmental Politics]].
  32. Barnett, Adrian. (February 25, 2006). "For people who live in greenhouses".
  33. Adlard, E.R.. (2006). "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate". [[Chromatographia]].
  34. Reay, Dave. (May 26, 2006). "Tell gran just how hot it is".
  35. Corbera, Esteve. (2006). "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate". Environmental Sciences.
  36. Reed, Cameron. (April 2013). "Introduction to Modern Climate Change". [[American Physical Society]].
  37. "ENVS 330-000: Climatology (Spring 2013)". [[Emory University]].
  38. Gerber, Edwin. "Fall 2013: The Science and Policy of Climate Change". [[New York University College of Arts and Science.
  39. "GEG6214 Science and Politics of Climate Change". School of Geography; [[Queen Mary University of London]].
  40. Mark, Bryan G.. (2014). "Geography 3901H: Global Climate and Environmental Change: Spring 2014 Syllabus". [[Ohio State University]].
  41. (February 15, 2011). "Making sense of science: Introducing the Google Science Communication Fellows". Google official blog.
  42. Riedel, Karen. (2011). "Andrew Dessler named Google Science Communication Fellow". College of Geosciences, Texas A&M University.
  43. "Sigma Xi Announces Recipients of 2011 Awards". [[Texas A&M University]].
  44. Webster, Peter J.. (2013). "Dessler, Jimenez, Klein, and Nenes receive 2012 Atmospheric Sciences Ascent awards: Citation for Andrew E. Dessler". [[Eos (journal).
  45. West, Lowell. (July 16, 2011). "Texas A&M atmospheric scientist receives national award". [[Texas A&M University]].
  46. "2014 Honorary Members, Awards, Lecturers and Fellows". [[American Meteorological Society]].
  47. Read, 2 Min. (2017-11-22). "Andrew Dessler Named A Fellow In AAAS".
  48. (2019). "2019 Class of AGU Fellows Announced". Eos.
  49. "AGU - American Geophysical Union".
  50. (August 26, 2022). "Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet awards for 2022". National Center for Science Education.
  51. . (March 18, 2004). ["Study disputes idea on global warming"](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/us/study-disputes-idea-on-global-warming.html). *[[The New York Times]]*.
  52. Gewin, Virginia. (March 9, 2011). "Turning point: Andrew Dessler". [[Nature (journal).

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