It is a real and extremely serious problem.
So is the ridiculous level of corruption and denial in US politics.
The scientists of the world (not just US politicians) have been warning us about this for a very long time, long before Al Gore was even VP. The other governments of the world also agree. The US government is just corrupt as sin to the point that the corporate-bought media and politicians have managed to muddy people’s opinions here enough that this is still being questioned.