Retired Princeton University physics professor William Happer, who pushed for the White House to question government findings that climate change threatens national security, will step down as a member of the National Security Council on Sept. 13, according to an organization where Happer previously worked.
Happer was said to be behind a potential White House executive order that would have created a federal advisory committee to scrutinize military and intelligence community findings that global warming poses a threat to national security. The Trump administration has yet to issue such a directive but has worked aggressively to rescind or ease rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions, including for the energy sector.
Prior to joining the National Security Council as senior director of emerging technologies, Happer founded and served as chairman and executive director of the CO2 Coalition, a group that has questioned the risks of global warming and argued that increased carbon emissions are a net benefit to society and the economy. That view contradicts the U.S. government's fourth national climate assessment released in November 2018, which said unabated climate change will result in major damage to public health, the environment and infrastructure.
"While your proposed review of alarmist analyses and projections has been delayed, we believe your work in calling attention to the problem of unscientific climate alarmism has reduced the chances of the dramatic increases in energy prices that would arise from the banning of fossil fuels that some have proposed," the CO2 Coalition said in statement of thanks to Happer on Sept. 11. "That in turn will improve and even save lives, both here and abroad."
The group also invited Happer to rejoin the CO2 Coalition's board.
The White House's reported interest in scrutinizing whether climate change imperils national security alarmed many former national security experts. In a March letter to President Donald Trump, nearly 60 former U.S. national security leaders said that any committee to undermine the military's worries on climate change will "weaken our ability to respond to real threats, putting American lives at risk." The letter pointed to the impact of extreme weather on military installations and political instability tied to climate change-linked water shortages as examples of why the committee should support prior military concerns on global warming.
The White House did not respond to inquiries on Happer's exit from the National Security Council and whether the administration still wants to conduct a security-related probe of climate risks.
