Led by Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas, the Republican members of
the House Science, Space and Technology Committee want answers from President Biden on how his administration set its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Their letter was sent to the White House ahead of the November meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Oklahoma Rep. Stephanie Bice was also among those who signed the letter in which they pointed out the administration’s commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 was made without any public release of the data, analysis or decision-making that informed the pledge.
The Republican members called it “particularly troubling” given that the pledge is nearly double that made under the Obama administration which was estimated to cost the U.S. economy $3 trillion and 6.5 million industrial sector jobs.
“At a time when employment rates struggle to recover, consumer prices surge, and inflation continues to rise, any additional burdens without solid justification could send our economy into an unrecoverable spiral,” the members wrote. “At just the surface level, your target sparks serious concerns, including those around feasibility, loss of jobs, grid reliability, and access to affordable energy.”
This was the committee’s second attempt to obtain information about the calculus behind the Administration’s pledges. In response to an oversight letter sent in May requesting information about the models and data used to determine these emissions targets, the White House took two months to respond and merely sent information from a fact sheet published on the White House website.
“This response does not satisfy the request for a briefing or provide an adequate response to the specific questions posed in the initial letter,” the Members wrote. “This lack of transparency is especially concerning given your Administration’s pledge to restore the public’s trust in science and policymaking.”
The Committee members also requested a timely response from the White House ahead of the approaching UN Climate Change Conference. “Given the potential for the United States delegation to solidify this commitment or offer higher ones at COP 26, we ask that this briefing take place before November 1, 2021.”