"The climate has always changed." "It was −30 last week, so much for your warming?" We have all heard these lines, at family dinners, in online comments, sometimes in our own head. They often sound logical, and **most people repeating them are in good faith**. The aim here is not to judge anyone, but to see straight.

Because on climate change, science has solid answers. Here are the 10 most common beliefs, taken apart one by one with verified facts, so that you too can reply calmly, without losing your temper.

The key point

Climate change is real, fast and human-caused: that is the conclusion of 97 to over 99% of climate scientists, of NASA, the IPCC and Ouranos. The beliefs that deny it rest on confusions the facts clear up. And it is not too late to act.

One marker before we start: Quebec is not spared. According to Ouranos and the Government of Canada, Canada is warming roughly twice as fast as the global average, and the North nearly three times. It is happening here, now.

Sorting fact from fictionThe 10 common beliefs, one by one

1Common belief
"The climate has always changed, it's natural"

The realityIt is true that the climate has varied across the ages (ice ages, warm periods). But never this fast. According to NOAA, the rise in CO₂ over the past 60 years is about 100 times faster than past natural increases. And above all: take human emissions out of the calculation and temperatures since 1950 should have stayed flat. Natural causes alone do not explain the warming we are living through.

2Common belief
"CO₂ is good for plants, it is not a pollutant"

The realityCO₂ is natural, and useful in small amounts. The problem is the excess, which traps heat, an effect scientists have understood since the 1850s. We passed 431 ppm in June 2026 at the Mauna Loa observatory, roughly 55% more than before the industrial era (~278 ppm), the highest level in millions of years (NOAA, American Meteorological Society). That figure climbs by about 2 ppm a year: if you are reading this later, check the current month on NOAA's site. It is this fast, human-driven rise that is throwing the climate off.

3Common belief
"Scientists do not even agree among themselves"

The realityThey are, overwhelmingly. Several studies show it: 97%, and according to more recent analyses, more than 99%, of actively publishing climate scientists agree that the warming is human in origin (NASA, NOAA, AAAS). Every major national academy of sciences in the world, and the IPCC, share that conclusion. The scientific debate about the cause is closed; today it is about the solutions.

4Common belief
"It's the sun, not us"

The realitySatellite measurements leave no room for doubt: the energy the Earth receives from the Sun has not increased since the 1950s. Worse for this theory: since 1975, the period of fastest warming, solar activity has actually declined slightly (NASA, NOAA). The Sun and the temperatures are moving in opposite directions. It cannot be the culprit.

5Common belief
"It was record cold this winter, what warming?"

The realityThis is the most common confusion: mixing up weather (what it is doing here and now, which can swing 10 °C between day and night) and climate (the average trend over decades, across a large territory), as Ouranos explains. Warming does not make everywhere hotter at the same time: a bitter winter where you live can coexist with heat records elsewhere. And the underlying trend is clear, 2024 was the hottest year ever measured.

6Common belief
"1.5 °C, honestly, that is a ridiculous difference"

The realityIt is a planet-wide average: a few tenths of a degree across the whole globe represent an enormous amount of energy. According to the IPCC, every fraction of a degree multiplies the extremes, heatwaves, droughts, storms, floods. 2024, the first year above 1.5 °C, broke records for heat, for sea level and for ice melt. This is not "a bit warmer", it is a system knocked out of balance.

7Common belief
"A single volcano pollutes more than all of humanity"

The realityThe opposite is true. According to the USGS, every volcano on the planet (on land and underwater) together emits between 0.13 and 0.44 billion tonnes of CO₂ a year. Human activities emit about 37 billionthat is at least 60 times more, and up to several hundred times more depending on which volcanic estimate is used (USGS, NOAA, NASA). Put another way, humanity releases in a few days what every volcano in the world emits in a full year.

8Common belief
"The ice is not really melting, there is even more of it"

The realityThe data say the opposite. In 2024, the world's glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet lost a record amount of ice, which raises the oceans (American Meteorological Society). Sea level is hitting records too, with a marked acceleration over the past 30 years. The net trend, planet-wide, is a loss of ice.

9Common belief
"Anyway, it is already too late"

The realityThis is the most demobilising idea, and it is false. The IPCC is clear: it is not all or nothing. Every fraction of a degree avoided reduces the damage, holding warming to 1.5 rather than 2 or 3 °C avoids major impacts. As Ouranos puts it, we must not give up: there are ways to adapt. Acting now genuinely changes the trajectory.

10Common belief
"Climate models are always wrong"

The realityThe models have proved themselves. Projections made decades ago correctly anticipated the warming we observe today. The 2024 measurements sit inside the range of the IPCC projections. No model is perfect, but their core, more greenhouse gases, more heat, holds up year after year.

To understandWhy these beliefs endure

If these myths still circulate, it is not because people are ill-intentioned. It is that climate is a complex subject (easy to summarise badly), that confusing weather with climate is natural, and that some industries long funded doubt in order to delay action. Against that, the best tool remains one precise fact from a reliable source, not an argument that turns sour.

Take actionHow to answer a common belief

Next time

Keeping the conversation useful

  • Stay calm and respectful: nobody is convinced by being ridiculed.
  • Rely on one precise fact and its source, not ten arguments at once.
  • Recall the difference between weather (today) and climate (decades).
  • Share a reliable source: NASA Climate, Ouranos, Environment Canada.
  • Bring it back to action: what we can do, here, makes a difference.

Going furtherUseful resources

At BetterWorld
  • Our articles on responsible consumption
  • Our print-on-demand shop, nothing is produced before it is ordered
Reliable scientific sources
  • Ouranos, climate science in Quebec
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canada's Changing Climate Report
  • NASA Climate and NOAA Climate.gov
  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
Tools
  • The Climate Atlas of Canada (data by region)
  • Skeptical Science, answers to climate myths, one by one

In shortDoubt about the doubt

These beliefs are understandable, but the facts are clear: the climate is warming, fast, because of us, and it is not too late to limit the damage. You do not need to convince the whole planet. It is often enough to cast doubt on the doubt, with one solid fact and a smile, then focus on what counts: acting, at your own scale, starting now.

Frequently askedYour questions

Is climate change really caused by humans?

Yes. Between 97% and over 99% of actively publishing climate scientists agree: recent warming is caused by human activities, above all the burning of fossil fuels. That is the position of NASA, NOAA, the IPCC and every major academy of sciences.

Hasn't the climate always changed anyway?

Yes, the climate has varied in the past, but never this fast: the rise in CO₂ over the last 60 years is about 100 times faster than past natural variations, and neither the sun nor volcanoes explain the current warming (NOAA, NASA).

Is Quebec really affected?

Yes, and more than average. According to Ouranos and the Government of Canada, Canada is warming roughly twice as fast as the global average. In Quebec: hotter summers, a frost-free season lengthened by nearly a month, shorter winters.

Doesn't a very cold winter prove it is false?

No. Weather (here and now, highly variable) must not be confused with climate (the trend over decades). A cold winter somewhere can coexist with heat records elsewhere. 2024 was the warmest year ever measured.

Is it already too late to act?

No. According to the IPCC, every fraction of a degree avoided reduces the damage: it is not all or nothing. Limiting warming means avoiding worse heatwaves and floods. Ouranos makes the point: there is still time to act and to adapt.

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Sources

✓ Facts verified on 4 August 2026

About this article. The facts cited come from recognised scientific sources (NASA, NOAA, USGS, IPCC, Ouranos, Environment and Climate Change Canada) and are dated. BetterWorld is a social-economy organisation; this article aims to inform from the scientific consensus, without taking a position on particular political choices.

Spotted an error or an out-of-date figure? Write to us: we will correct it and re-date the article. Our texts are written with the help of artificial intelligence and checked against official sources before publication, but an amount or a rule can change without us catching it. If anything here does not match what an official body tells you, they are right.