Trump administration picks Wielicki, who says solar radiation, not CO2, drives warming

Wielicki argues solar radiation, not CO2, drives warming

The Trump administration on Friday appointed Matthew Wielicki, a former geochemist who describes himself as an “Earth science professor-in-exile,” to lead the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the federal office responsible for producing the National Climate Assessment — a congressionally mandated report on how climate change affects the United States.

Wielicki lacks formal training in climate science, according to the Guardian, which first reported the appointment. He left his position as a geosciences professor at the University of Alabama three years ago, posting on social media that the profession was “no longer worthy of my efforts.” He cited “the earth science communities silence on the false ‘climate emergency’ narrative” as a contributing factor and said members “dare not speak out … lest they lose their positions and research funds.”

Wielicki frequently criticizes established climate science online. In a social media post Thursday, he responded to a scientific assessment showing Europe’s recent heatwave would have been impossible without the climate crisis by writing: “If every extreme weather event ends up being attributed to climate change in one way or another, is it really attribution science … or just confirmation bias dressed up as science?” In a 2023 post, he said people who believe in climate science are “being sold snake oil.”

On his blog, Irrational Fear, Wielicki has cast doubt on the conclusions of earlier National Climate Assessments and argued that increasing solar radiation, not carbon dioxide, is causing atmospheric warming. He has also appeared in videos produced by PragerU, a rightwing YouTube channel.

Reached for comment, a White House spokesperson said officials are “committed to using the best scientific information to inform public policy.” The spokesperson added: “For too long, the [USGCRP] has been used as a vehicle for political agendas instead of sound science. We look forward to restoring the USGCRP and ensuring it fulfills its legal mandate.”

Carlos Martinez, a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the appointment threatens the credibility of the assessment process. “Our country cannot afford a compromised USGCRP or NCA that peddles politically motivated disinformation echoing fossil fuel industry talking points,” Martinez said. “Reconstituting the USGCRP only to place the National Climate Assessment under the auspices of an utterly unqualified climate science denier would jeopardize the integrity of one of the nation’s most important climate science resources.”

The appointment is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to scale back federal climate work. Last year, officials shuttered the online portal that provided access to the five editions of the National Climate Assessment published since 2000. The administration dismissed all contributors to the sixth National Climate Assessment and gutted the USGCRP’s staff and funding. The Department of Energy also published a report last summer written by five climate skeptics that denied mainstream climate science.

In response to the dismantling of the USGCRP, two major U.S. scientific societies — the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union — announced last year that they would produce peer-reviewed research to fill the gaps left by the program’s reduction. American Geophysical Union president Brandon Jones said at the time: “It’s incumbent on us to ensure our communities, our neighbors, our children are all protected and prepared for the mounting risks of climate change.”

Wielicki’s appointment also comes as Trump has received record campaign donations from the fossil fuel industry, according to the Guardian. The National Climate Assessment is required by law to be produced every four years.