Overview

• DOE’s internal directory lists Steven Koonin as a special government employee, John Christy as an expert and Roy Spencer as a consultant under Secretary Chris Wright.
• Officials have not clarified the exact responsibilities of the three hires as warnings arise that their work could steer climate research toward contrarian conclusions.
• The appointments follow the administration’s recent layoffs of climate scientists, removal of National Climate Assessment drafts and the climate.gov website, and an EPA-led review to overturn the 2009 endangerment finding.
• Andrew Dessler says the moves signal an effort to secure predetermined results and Zeke Hausfather cautions that elevating minority views risks distorting federal reports.
• Observers fear Koonin, Christy and Spencer will develop a fringe-skewed version of the National Climate Assessment to justify rolling back greenhouse gas regulations.