The comment period for a controversial “climate science” report commissioned by the US Department of Energy has ended, with the scientific community strongly rejecting its flawed content, which contains inaccuracies aimed at downplaying climate change risks. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) submitted comments criticizing the report and, along with the Environmental Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s biased process for creating it, alleging violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
The report is being used by the EPA to attempt to reverse the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which identified heat-trapping emissions as harmful to human health—an action seen as detrimental to addressing the climate crisis.
UCS’s comments highlighted four key points:
-
Falsehoods: The report misrepresents climate science, including mischaracterizing data from Dr. Ben Santer’s research and inaccurately portraying wildfire trends.
-
Cherry-Picking Data: It selectively uses data that downplays climate issues, ignoring comprehensive evidence like satellite altimetry that indicates significant sea-level rise.
-
Deceptive Framing: It minimizes climate change harms by misleadingly framing heat-related mortality statistics.
-
Improper Process: The report was drafted by a secretive group of climate contrarians chosen by DOE Secretary Wright, lacking the transparency mandated by FACA.
Due to these flaws, UCS is calling for the report’s withdrawal and opposing its use in regulatory decisions. They advocate turning to credible sources like the U.S. National Climate Assessments and IPCC reports for genuine climate science. UCS emphasizes the need for factual science to inform policy, criticizing the government’s embrace of anti-science and pseudoscience narratives.
They urge citizens to voice their support for upholding scientific integrity in policymaking, especially regarding the EPA’s proposed repeal of the Endangerment Finding. The article concludes by stressing a rapid transition to clean energy as essential in combating climate change.
