Belluno municipality distributes climate change book contesting human impact

The Municipality of Belluno, led by Mayor Oscar De Pellegrino, has sparked controversy by distributing a book titled ‘Cambiamenti climatici: scenari, sfide, soluzioni’ (Climate Change: Scenarios, Challenges, Solutions) to local high school students. The publication, which was funded by the municipality, contains claims that current temperature increases are part of natural climate cycles and are not caused by human emissions.

Specifically, the text includes contributions from Giorgio Giacchetti, president of the Order of Geologists of Veneto, who suggests that temperature rises are likely due to astronomical cycles and that the greenhouse effect becomes negligible beyond 260 ppm.

These assertions have drawn strong criticism from the University of Padua’s Departments of Geosciences and Territory and Agro-Forest Systems (Tesaf). University experts expressed deep concern, stating that the book’s claims contradict established scientific knowledge regarding the climate system and the consensus held by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which maintains that human activity is the primary driver of global warming.