The Trump administration announced it is disbanding a federal advisory panel aimed at helping policymakers and the private sector incorporate government climate change projections into long-term planning, The Washington Post reported.
The 15-person advisory committee, which operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is made up of academics, local government officials, and corporate representatives. Its mandate is to help translate the findings of the National Climate Assessment for communities and businesses, particularly to inform infrastructure projects like road and building construction.
The committee was established in 2015 under President Obama, and its charter was set to expire over the weekend. Last Friday, NOAA’s acting administrator Ben Friedman told the committee the agency would not renew it.
“It doesn’t seem to be the best course of action,” Richard Moss, a climate policy expert at the University of Maryland and chair of the advisory committee, told The Washington Post. “We’re going to be running huge risks here and possibly end up hurting the next generation’s economic prospects.”
The decision to disband the committee comes as the Trump administration is reviewing the final version of the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment. A draft version of the report finds that human activities were responsible for an increase in global temperatures of 1.1 degrees to 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit from 1951 to 2010.