Washington Watch: Climate Denier to Head State Department?
Can the Trump Cabinet get any worse for the environment? Yes: We could have a full-fledged climate denier in charge of our international relations.
Fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson surely had his faults, but he was one of the “adults in the room” on the reality of human-driven climate change—despite his touted background as former head of ExxonMobil. Now, however, Trump has tapped an admitted climate-change denier to take Tillerson’s place at the helm of the State Department: CIA director and former member of Congress Mike Pompeo.
If confirmed by the Senate, Trump’s move would put Pompeo in charge of representing our nation at the upcoming international climate meeting. Tillerson acknowledged human-driven climate change and had recommended against pulling out of the Paris accords. As a member of Congress, Pompeo criticized that key international climate action agreement and claimed that there was discord among scientists on which direction global climate trends are taking us.
“As climate realists like Tillerson depart, and ideologues like Pompeo replace them, the voices of flat out climate change denial are now completely ascendant at the top levels of the Trump administration,” said former Clinton White House climate change advisor Paul Bledsoe. “The President simply will not be hearing the facts from anyone.”
National League of Conservation Voters (LCV) senior vice president Tiernan Sittenfeld said of Pompeo’s nomination, “Though not surprising, this is extremely troubling. Climate change is one of the most critical threats facing our nation and world, and the Secretary of State has a huge responsibility to make sure it is addressed by the global community. With a history of questioning the science of climate change, a close relationship with the polluter Koch brothers and lifetime LCV score of 4%, Mike Pompeo has no business becoming the next Secretary of State.”
Back in the land of objective reality, the drumbeat of scientific warning about the dangers of ongoing climate change continues unabated. The latest update of the U.S. National Climate Assessment was released this month in peer-reviewed draft form, and it’s full of specific alarming examples of ongoing impacts. The final report is expected out later this year.
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