On Tuesday night, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the Trump administration is in the process of updating the National Climate Assessments that had been previously released, following their recent removal from government websites.
In an interview on “The Source,” Wright informed Kaitlan Collins that the team is currently reviewing the reports and will provide updated findings along with comments on them.
Wright rejected the previous reports, asserting that “they weren’t fair in broad-based assessments of climate change.”
Upon examining various departments and uncovering materials that raise concerns, there is a strong desire to address and rectify those issues, he stated.
Andrea Woods, the energy spokesperson, clarified that the National Climate Reports are issued by NOAA, not the Department of Energy. He explained that he was not implying he would be changing previous reports himself.
The oversight of the interagency process and publication falls under the purview of the US Global Change Research Program, a body created by Congress.
The National Climate Assessments represent a series of research reports mandated by Congress, crafted by a diverse group of scientists and experts. These reports aim to provide the nation with the most up-to-date climate science, detailing both the current and anticipated impacts of climate change across the United States. The comprehensive reports undergo years of meticulous research, drafting, and publication processes, involving several rounds of peer review, with contributions from all 13 federal agencies engaged in climate research. A panel from the independent National Academy of Sciences has approved the content.
In 2018, the first Trump administration approved and published the Fourth US National Climate Assessment, strategically choosing to unveil the report on Black Friday, a day often overshadowed by consumerism, to downplay its significance. The current administration has removed all prior reports from government websites, dismissed the scientists involved in the next iteration of the report, and recently released a separate document authored by five researchers that challenges the severity of climate change.
Modifying or updating earlier published evaluations would represent a notable intensification of the administration’s efforts to erase credible climate science from the historical record.
“That would be a very unusual approach, especially considering the extensive process that went into creating these,” remarked Zeke Hausfather, the climate research lead at financial services company Stripe and a contributor to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Wright was instrumental in the commissioning of a new federal report that challenges the severity of climate change, a document produced by five researchers recognised for their contrarian views on the subject. Last week, a report was released alongside a proposed regulatory repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s “endangerment finding.” This 2009 scientific determination asserts that human-induced climate change poses risks to human health and safety.
Wright informed reporters that he selected the four researchers and one economist responsible for the Trump administration report. The authors include John Christy and Roy Spencer, both research scientists at the University of Alabama at Huntsville; Steven E. Koonin from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution; Georgia Tech professor emeritus Judith Curry; and Canadian economist Ross McKitrick.
“I have compiled a list of individuals whom I believe to be the genuine and trustworthy scientists,” Wright stated. “I compiled a list of approximately twelve individuals whom I considered to be highly senior and well-respected in their fields.” After reaching out to the top five, I received affirmative responses from all parties involved.
The recent Department of Energy report was produced in a remarkably swift two-month timeframe, especially when contrasted with the National Climate Assessments and international climate science reports, which typically require years for compilation and review. The initiative is currently in the phase of soliciting public feedback.
