CLIMATEWIRE | The Trump administration’s abrupt retreat from global climate action is threatening to delay a pivotal scientific report that can be used by countries to shape their responses to rising temperatures.
Delegates from more than 190 countries are meeting in Hangzhou, China, this week to make decisions related to the content and timing of the seventh assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. body that evaluates the science behind climate change.
The conclusions of the assessments — which are released every five to seven years — help inform governments about the sources of greenhouse gas emissions, the pollution’s effects on the planet and the risks of not acting to curb it. The comprehensive reports are also integral to ascertaining whether countries are doing enough to reduce emissions — a process under the Paris climate agreement known as a stocktake.
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The U.S. delegation was prevented from attending the IPCC meeting by the Trump administration, said a government official who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation. The move follows President Donald Trump’s announcement last month that he would immediately withdraw from the Paris deal.
Among the delegates who were blocked from attending the meeting is a federal scientist, Katherine Calvin, who was co-chairing one of three working groups that help assemble the next assessment. The Trump administration also halted a technical support unit that was backing that working group, according to two other government officials.
Losing that unit would ensure delays at the working group level of the assessment’s preparation, said one of those officials.
The State Department declined to comment.
Flouting the IPCC meeting is another signal that the Trump administration is pulling back from global climate engagement. U.S. officials did not attend a board meeting last week of the Green Climate Fund, the primary vehicle for helping poorer countries fund climate efforts. That’s been coupled with a complete assault on climate science at home, the shuttering of climate programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development and a broad freeze on foreign…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Scientific American Content: Global…