President-elect Donald Trump has worried Earth scientists and energy experts with his assertions that climate change is a hoax, so Tuesday several hundred signed an open letter urging him to address the issue while in office. “At this crucial juncture in human history, countries look to the United States to pick up the mantle of leadership: to take steps to strengthen, not weaken, this nation’s efforts to tackle this crisis,” more than 800 scientists and experts wrote.
The letter, published in Scientific American and accompanied by a Change.org public petition, urges Trump to take six specific steps: make America a clean energy leader by investing in innovation; reduce carbon pollution and national dependence on fossil fuels; enhance climate preparedness and resilience; publicly acknowledge the reality of human-caused climate change; “protect scientific integrity in policymaking” by appointing advisers, Cabinet members, and agency leaders who respect scientific fact; and not withdraw the U.S. from the international Paris Agreement on climate change.
Nearly all of the signatories have or are working toward a doctorate in relevant disciplines and are either American or working in the U.S.