Secret US Climate Skeptic Panel Behind Controversial Global Warming Report Violated Law, Court Rules

A US court has ruled that the Trump administration violated federal law by secretly forming a climate science advisory group to work on a controversial global warming report.

The Department of Energy failed to publicly disclose that a five-member Climate Working Group, made up of climate change skeptics, had prepared a report released in July that downplayed the risks of global warming. The report claimed that mainstream climate science was exaggerated and highlighted what it described as the positive effects of climate change. It also incorrectly asserted that sea levels were not accelerating and that rising carbon dioxide levels would benefit plant growth.

The administration used the report to support its proposal to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding. This ruling determined that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, pose a threat to public health and welfare, forming the legal basis for regulating emissions under the Clean Air Act.

The repeal of the finding is currently under final review at the White House.

On Friday, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts said the Energy Department violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act by secretly convening the group. The court noted that the panel did not merely exchange information but provided substantive policy advice and recommendations.

The 1972 law prohibits federal agencies from forming or relying on undisclosed advisory committees to shape policy.

Reacting to the ruling, Erin Murphy, senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the administration had broken the law by using a “dangerously slanted” report to undermine climate protections.

She added that the EPA should immediately withdraw its proposal to repeal the Endangerment Finding, warning that doing so would impose heavy costs on Americans already facing the impacts of climate change, including wildfires, flooding, rising insurance premiums and higher energy costs.

The lawsuit was filed by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists last year.