Trump removes scientist who led sweeping climate change report and other officials

Dr Michael Kuperberg was executive director of the US Global Change Research Program for the past five years

The climate scientist leading the federal government’s program that produces sweeping reports on the climate crisis has been removed from his post by the Trump administration.

Dr Michael Kuperberg, executive director of the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) for the past five years, was returned to his prior role at the Energy Department last week, the Washington Post reported. 

Dr Kuperberg had worked as a biologist for 17 years, and was previously responsible for the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science program in the Department of Energy's Climate and Environmental Sciences Division, according to his LinkedIn. “The ultimate goal is improved projections of future climate,” the profile notes.

Dr Kuperberg was expected to lead the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA), an authoritative and US-focused study of climate change that is mandated by Congress.

Dr Kuperberg did not respond to a request for comment by The Independent at the time of publication.

Following publication, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said in a statement that it does not comment on personnel matters.

Dr Rachel Licker,  senior climate scientist with the advocacy group, Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Independent that Dr Kuperberg’s removal “is the icing on the climate inaction cake that the Trump Administration has been baking the last four years”. 

She added: “Since day one, the Trump Administration has taken every measure at its disposal to prevent action on climate change, including trying to undermine climate scientists and research. We know the Trump Administration is in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry, and they have continued to subscribe to the fringe ideas that are politically convenient for them yet dangerous for the US public. 

“This is a sad last-ditch effort to try and promote these fringe ideologies and embed them into the National Climate Assessment, which they know will be directed by mainstream science when the Biden Administration takes over.”

USGCRP oversees 13 federal departments and their work to tackle the climate crisis, along with producing four NCAs since 2000.

The last NCA, published in 2018, found that climate change “creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth”.

The report, involving work from 300 government and non-government scientists, evoked angry remarks from Mr Trump and his administration who appeared upset by the science which ran contrary to its message of ignoring and minimizing that humans are driving the climate crisis, largely by burning fossil fuels.

The White House called it “inaccurate” and Mr Trump added, “I don’t believe it.”

The administration released the report on Black Friday, in an apparent attempt to have it buried in the post-Thanksgiving news cycle.

At the time, Dr Katharine Hayhoe, a NCA author, responded to the president’s remarks on Twitter.

“Finally, the president then said that he ‘didn’t believe’ the report," she wrote. “But climate science isn’t a religion: it’s real, whether we believe in it or not. If our decisions are not based in reality, we are the ones who will suffer the consequences.”

She continued: “When it comes to a changing climate, the bottom line is this:  It’s real. It’s us. Scientists agree. The impacts are already here and now. But by acting now we can still avoid the most serious and even dangerous impacts. Our future is in our hands.”

Don Wuebbles, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Illinois and director of the fourth NCA, confirmed that Dr Kuperberg had been removed from his role. He said his friend and fellow scientist was “shocked” by the decision, calling him “extremely dedicated” in an interview with the Washington Post.

Dr Kuperberg is not the only official exiting a role that relates to climate, energy or environmental policy as the Trump administration winds down.

Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator National Nuclear Security Administration, resigned, and Neil Chatterjee, chairman of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, was removed.

Mike Esper, Secretary of Defense, and Bonnie Glick, the deputy administrator of United States Agency for International Development, were also ousted by Mr Trump.

The next NCA, scheduled to be published in 2022, will be completed under the Biden administration but a deadline for authors on the report is coming up this weekend.

By taking Dr Kuperberg from the role, the Trump administration could be looking to add someone more sympathetic to its position of climate change denial.

David Legates has been suggested as the next person to take over the role.

The meterologist, recently hired for a senior role at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), testified before a government subcommittee hearing last year that, “[t]he current emphasis on climate change abatement will do far more harm than good”. 

With 70 days left in the Trump administration, he could impact the direction of the next climate assessment, even if he was removed when president-elect Biden entered the White House.

This article has been updated