Trump Disbands National Climate Advisory Committee

Aug 21, 2017

Effective August 21, 2017, President Trump’s NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has disbanded the main Federal advisory group charged with informing and updating US public policy to address on-going scientific data being gathered on the building climate crisis.  The panel’s charter expired on Sunday, August 20th, and Richard Moss, the Senior Scientist chairing the group was informed Friday that it would not be renewed, and that the group and its work would be ended.

One immediate impact of the committee being disbanded is that organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers will no longer get detailed data they need to do things like update building codes.  It also is likely to affect decisions that state and local authorities must make on a range of issues from building road projects to maintaining adequate hydropower supplies.

Committee Chair Richard Moss told the paper its members will continue their work in private, but said the decision to disband it as a formal entity was “short-sighted”.   He said it could create “huge risks…and possibly end up hurting the next generation’s economic prospects.”

“It won’t have the same weight as if we were issuing it as a federal advisory committee,” he added.

See the full Washington Post story HERE.