The Washington Post reported that the White House is considering creating a new federal panel: the Presidential Committee on Climate Security. If formed, this committee would conduct an adversarial review of recent scientific and national security studies in order to advise the President on whether climate change poses a threat to national security. A leaked discussion paper indicates that William Happer, a National Security Council senior director, is leading the effort. Happer is not a trained climate scientist, and has actively and publicly worked to reject climate science. For instance, he has stated he does not believe that carbon-dioxide is a pollutant.
Taken together with actions at EPA, the administration appears poised to ignore scientific consensus on climate change’s likely impacts on the US in three key areas: national security, human health, and the environment.
For more information, please see our previous posts:
- Removing Academic Scientists from Science Advisory Panels
- Appointing a Climate Change Skeptic to EPA’s Advisory Committees.
This post was edited for clarity on Jan. 28, 2020.