Secret DOE report Fuels Legal Battle Over Climate Regulations
WASHINGTON – A legal challenge is underway concerning a report produced by a disbanded Energy Department working group that critics allege is being used to justify rolling back federal climate regulations.Environmental groups are seeking to have the report thrown out, arguing it was created in secrecy and violates federal law, while the EPA has cited it in a proposal to reconsider the “endangerment finding” - the scientific basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
The Climate Working Group (CWG) was convened during the Trump administration and produced a report questioning the established consensus on climate change. The report has been cited by the EPA in its efforts to potentially weaken regulations on emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants, cars and trucks, and the oil and gas industry’s methane pollution.
“The Climate Working Group was convened in secrecy, and it created a clandestine report – in brazen violation of federal law – that is being used to weaken protections against the climate pollution that makes life less safe and less affordable for all Americans,” said Erin Murphy, senior attorney at the Environmental Defence Fund, in a statement.
Former DOE official Charles Wright, who oversaw the CWG, defended the report at a conference in Belgium on Friday, stating it prompted “open, back and forth dialog.” He expressed a desire to encourage debate among those with differing perspectives.
Though, climate scientists argue the debate is largely settled. Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, coordinated a response from climate experts. He contrasted the CWG report with assessments from organizations like the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which involve hundreds of scientists and undergo rigorous peer review.
“When well-established scientific conclusions are challenged by arguments that ignore or contradict decades of solid evidence, these debates don’t advance our understanding,” Dessler wrote to NPR. “Rather, they can muddy the waters and distract from more productive scientific inquiry.”
Dessler further likened the CWG’s approach to tactics previously employed by the tobacco industry to downplay the health risks of smoking.
The Energy Department has as disbanded the CWG, but the legal case regarding the report’s validity continues. A hearing is scheduled for September 23rd on a motion by the Trump administration to dismiss part of the case, determining weather the report will be considered in the EPA’s ongoing review of climate regulations.
