EPA chief at odds with science
WASHINGTON — The new chief of the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday he does not believe that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming, a statement at odds with mainstream scientific consensus.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said measuring the effect of human activity on the climate is “very challenging ” and that “there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact” of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
“So, no, I would not agree that (carbon dioxide) is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Pruitt told CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Pruitt’s view is at odds with mainstream climate science, including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The two agencies reported in January that earth’s 2016 temperatures were the warmest yet. The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 0.85 C since the late 19th century, “a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other humanmade emissions into the atmosphere,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Environmental groups seized on Pruitt’s comments as evidence he is unfit for the office he holds.
“The arsonist is now in charge of the fire department, and he seems happy to let the climate crisis burn out of control,” said Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune.
Pruitt “is spewing corporate polluter talking points rather than fulfilling the EPA’s mission of protecting our air, our water, and our communities,” Brune said, noting that EPA has a legal responsibility to address carbon pollution.
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the comments underscore that Pruitt is a “climate denier” and insisted lawmakers will stand up to him.
“Anyone who denies over a century’s worth of established science and basic facts is unqualified to be the administrator of the EPA,” Schatz said in a statement.
Pruitt previously served as Oklahoma’s attorney general, where he rose to prominence as a leader in co-ordinated efforts by Republican attorneys general to challenge former president Barack Obama’s regulatory agenda. He sued or took part in legal actions against the EPA 14 times.
Pruitt told Democratic senators that he disagreed with Trump’s earlier claims that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese to harm the economic competitiveness of the U.S.