White House official accused of doctoring climate reports

It has emerged that Philip Cooney, the chief of staff for the White House council on environmental quality, rewrote scientific reports in order to play down links between greenhouse gases and global warming.

He has no scientific background and was formerly a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, an umbrella group for oil companies.

 

Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, has vehemently denied accusations that Mr Cooney had politicised science, arguing that Cooney’s amendments were a standard part of the review process and that he was just one of many people involved. He also pointed out that some reports that had been edited by Cooney were later endorsed by leading scientific bodies.

 

Asked at a press conference whether he believed that climate change was man-made, George Bush said America was at the forefront of research into the issue. “I’ve always said it’s a serious long-term issue that needs to be dealt with,” he said. “My administration isn’t waiting around to deal with it; we’re acting. We want to know more about it.”

 

However, this contradicts a joint statement offered by the scientific academies of 11 countries – including America – which said the evidence of global warming was now obvious enough to justify immediate action.