United States to rewrite its earlier national climate reports

(Patria) - The administration of US President Donald Trump is revising previous editions of the leading national climate report, AFP reported.

The decision, announced by Energy Secretary Chris Wright during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday evening, followed the government's withdrawal of the Endangerment Finding, a scientific determination that underpins a range of regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

When asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins why previous editions of the National Climate Assessment were no longer available online, Wright, a former executive at a fracking company, responded:

"Because we are reviewing them and we will be coming out with updated reports on them and comments on them."

First published in 2000, the National Climate Assessment has been considered the bedrock of the US government's understanding of climate science, synthesizing contributions from agencies and hundreds of experts.

Previous editions have warned starkly of escalating risks to the US economy, infrastructure, and public health if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced. But in April, the administration initiated the process of laying off hundreds of scientists who were working on the sixth edition.

Under the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the government is legally mandated to provide a climate assessment to Congress and the President.

The Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have continued with their fossil fuel agenda – rolling back clean energy tax credits through the so-called "Great American Outdoors Act" and opening up more environmentally sensitive lands for drilling.

Last month's proposed rescission of the Endangerment Finding by the Environmental Protection Agency was accompanied by the release of a new climate study by the Department of Energy, authored by climate change skeptics.

The study questioned whether heat records are actually increasing and whether extreme weather events are worsening. It also misrepresented the work of cited climatologists, according to several who spoke to AFP, and suggested that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide could be a net benefit for agriculture.