Trump admin puts EPA climate science debate plan ‘on hold’

The Trump administration is putting a halt to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s plans to organize a forum to challenge consensus on climate change science.

The plan, dubbed “red team, blue team” after the national security community’s exercises, was halted after various administration officials met about it this week, Climatewire reported Friday.

A source familiar with the Thursday meeting told Climatewire the idea “has been put on hold.”

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The White House meeting included White House energy adviser Mike Catanzaro, White House deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn and the EPA’s air office chief, Bill Wehrum.

A source close to the situation told Climatewire that there might be disagreements about how to formulate the program and who should oversee it.

Pruitt has for months pushed the “red team, blue team” exercise, which he says would be a rare opportunity for Americans to see real debate about climate science.

The scientific consensus is that the climate is changing and human-induced greenhouse gases are by far the primary cause. But Pruitt and others in the administration are skeptical, only agreeing that human activity has some role.

The approach “is something that puts experts in a room and lets them debate an issue,” Pruitt said earlier this year on Fox News. “The American people deserve that type of objective, transparent discussion.”

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox emphasized that Pruitt believes humans play a role in climate change, but said he is still interested in having the discussion.

“Administrator Pruitt has been clear that climate change is real and humans are playing a role. He is committed to addressing this issue through robust discussion to understand the best path forward,” Wilcox said.

Pruitt told lawmakers last week that the exercise would launch as early as January.

An official told Climatewire earlier this week that Trump was on board with Pruitt’s idea, but not everyone in the administration was in agreement.

— This story was updated at 2:30 p.m.