Date: July 2nd, 2018
Agency: Federal, Treasury Department
Explanation: Government Censorship
Scientist: Climate
The U.S. Department of the Treasury removed references to “climate change” from its 2017 sustainability report. Notably, in a departure from the department’s 2016 report, the 2017 version no longer lists “climate change resilience” as a goal. The 2017 version also omits discussion — which had appeared in the 2016 report — of department programs to protect “vulnerable populations” from climate change risks, guard department buildings against flooding, and “incentivize planning” outside Treasury for climate effects. It does, however, continue to list “greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction” as a goal of the department and includes language about making department buildings “climate resilient.”
The Treasury Department’s sustainability report is intended to document how it is reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving other environmental goals. All federal departments were required to prepare such reports under Executive Order 13693 — Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade — which was signed by President Obama in March 2015. EO13693 was revoked by President Trump in May 2018 and, as a result, the Treasury Department did not publish its 2017 report.