They call it climate change because it's a lot more than just warming. It's accompanied by other climate-related changes such as frequency and magnitude of storm events and higher or lower overall precip, depending upon location. Some areas also see more warming than others (eg areas closer to the poles).
There's also PLENTY of data, spacially and temporally, so the " variability" has no bearing on the overall warming trend observed.
Yes, every PhD climatologist says that earth is warming overall, and due to fossil fuels. It's because ALL the data easily demonstrates that. EASILY. Not because of a grand funding conspiracy.