Trump to Withdraw US From Paris Climate Accord

On Thursday, June 1, President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, the world's first comprehensive climate agreement. The pact is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the ability of nations to adapt to climate change. As of today, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and 148 have ratified it. President Trump dubiously claimed that the accord was economically unfair to American workers and would hurt competitiveness, as he grossly misrepresented the US's commitment to the Paris agreement and relied on arguments that were misleading, inaccurate, and untruthful. Trump purported to pull out of the international deal in order to focus on creating manufacturing jobs in America, but, due to growth in the renewable energy sector, his move may actually cost the US jobs.

Paris Withdrawal Decision Made Without Scientific Advisors

President Trump made this decision to withdraw from the Paris accord without the benefit of scientific advice within the White House. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) remains understaffed and without a director, and the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) remains empty. Reactions from the scientific community have been highly critical of the decision to withdraw.

Tech Leaders React to Paris Withdrawal

Prominent leaders in the tech industry criticized President Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris agreement, including the heads of Google, Microsoft, IBM, GE, and many more. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger resigned from Trump's presidential councils as a result of this move. "Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk tweeted.

House Science Chair Supports Paris Withdrawal

Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chair of the House Committee Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman, released a statement in support of Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Smith, who is not a scientist, is a long-time climate change denier and is frequently at odds with the scientific community, especially on issues where scientific evidence conflicts with his ultra-conservative and industry-friendly worldview.

EPA Head: New Climate Deal Should Focus on Exporting US Technology

On Friday, June 2, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt held a press conference in which he defended Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Pruitt stated that the US had decreased carbon dioxide emissions in the recent past and, therefore, a future climate deal should be focused on exporting US technology to the rest of the world to assist with decreasing carbon dioxide in other countries. Strangely, while he held up fracking and "clean coal" as examples of two of these technologies, he neglected to mention renewable energy technology. Pruitt claimed that the US would not lose its seat at the international climate table due to its withdrawal, instead claiming that other countries would come to the US for advice and guidance about how to reduce their carbon dioxide footprints. Pruitt's comments came after several European world leaders stated that they will not renegotiate a new climate agreement.

Key EPA Scientific Advisory Position in Danger of Vacancy

Another EPA scientific advisory committee is in danger of being weakened by loss of key members. The current chair of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, which fulfills rolls required by the Clean Air Act, will step down in September. The administration has not yet moved to fill the position, though the nomination process should have already started.

EPA Offers Buyouts to Cut Staff and Reorganize Workforce

Just as Trump was announcing the US's withdrawal from the Paris accord on Thursday, a memo was sent to EPA employees announcing the kickoff of the agency's staff buyout program. The buyout program was designed to cut staff numbers and allow the EPA to "realign [its] workforce to meet changing mission requirements and move toward new models of work," according to Acting Deputy Administrator Mike Flynn. The Trump administration's FY18 budget proposes the elimination of 3,200 out of 15,000 current EPA positions. Currently, $12 billion has been set aside for buyouts with the aim of completing the process by the end of the fiscal year in September.

Tech Executives to Attend American Technology Council Meeting

The American Technology Council, which was created by executive order on May 1 to help improve the government's IT and digital services, will have its inaugural meeting on June 19. Executives from major tech companies have been invited to attend, and so far Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins have confirmed that they will be there. It is unclear how many other executives will attend due to pushback from Trump's Paris decision and other policies. At the meeting, tech executives will divide into 10 working groups on topics ranging from cloud computing to immigration in order to "collaboratively develop ideas for how government can operate like a modern technology enterprise."

Upcoming Hearings, Nominations, and Confirmations

Tuesday, June 6

  • The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will meet at 9:30 am EDT to vote on four nominations: David Bernhardt to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Dan Brouillette to be Deputy Secretary of Energy, and Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson to be members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Wednesday, June 7

  • The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing at 10:00 am EDT on the nominations of Kristine Svinicki, Annie Caputo and David Wright to be members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and on Susan Bodine to Assistant Administrator of the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

Thursday, June 8

  • The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a confirmation hearing on David Redl to be Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at 10:00 am.
  • The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will meet at 10:00 am to vote on the nomination of Makan Delrahim to be Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division.
  • Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services, will appear before two committees to discuss the Trump administration's FY18 budget proposal: the Senate Committee on Finance at 10:00 am EDT and the House Committee on Ways and Means at 1:00 pm EDT. Trump's FY18 budget proposal included massive cuts to Medicaid and the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), among other cuts.
  • Robert Lightfoot, Acting Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will appear before the House Subcommittee on Space at 10:00 am EDT to discuss the Trump administration's FY18 budget proposal.

Action Items

  • 314 Action is asking individuals to sign the Paris Accord on behalf of the US. Sign up here. You can also make a personal pledge to the Paris Agreement by tweeting with the hashtags #ActOnClimate and #PersonalParisPledge.
  • 314 Action is also hosting a panel discussion, featuring Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), on Facebook Live at 4 pm EDT this Tuesday, June 6, about the next steps in the wake of Trump's Paris withdrawal. View the panel discussion here.
  • The FCC needs to hear from you in order to save net neutrality regulations. Learn more here, and submit comments directly here.
  • The Trump administration is letting the National Forensic Science Commission expire. You can submit comments through this Friday, June 9. Learn more here, and submit comments directly here.

Highlights from Partner Organizations

  • The Public Comment Project has released a toolkit to teach scientists how to explain research to make a more effective public comment. Learn more here.
  • The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has posted an interactive dashboard to track congressional appropriations for science agencies and programs. View the dashboard here.

- Science & Technology Policy Working Group, RISE Stronger

Have comments or something to add? Contact the RISE Science & Technology Policy Working Group at [email protected]. Check us out online at risestronger.org/groups/rise-science-technology.