As Climate Conference in Copenhagen Approaches, President Obama Should Abandon Any Plans for Binding U.S. Commitment

U.N. to Investigate Climategate While Obama Administration Turns Blind Eye to Corrupted Science

WASHINGTON D.C. – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today joined with House Republican leaders in a letter to President Obama calling on him to provide assurances that U.S. negotiators attending the climate change conference in Copenhagen “will not commit our government to an emissions reduction protocol at Copenhagen.”

“We have several concerns with a binding emissions reduction scheme for the United States, including its negative impact on the American economy and specifically for small businesses and the manufacturing and agricultural sectors during these difficult economic times,” House Republican lawmakers wrote.  “It is clear that a binding plan agreed to in Copenhagen would cost jobs in the United States.  Congress has the sole responsibility to approve such a program and as such we would like a clarification that U.S.negotiators will not commit our government to an emissions reduction protocol at Copenhagen.”

Earlier today, Issa called on the Administration and Congress to launch an immediate investigation into Climategate and the leaked e-mails that call into the question the validity of conclusions reached in the U.N.’s IPCC assessment, which the Obama Administration has relied on to shape and validate its Climate Change public policy agenda.

“The U.N.’s decision to investigate Climategate is a direct rebuke of the Obama Administration’s refusal to pursue an investigation into the possible manipulation of scientific data to generate predetermined results,” said Rep. Issa.  “The very integrity of the report that the Obama Administration has predicated much of its Climate Change policy upon has been called into question and it is unconscionable that this Administration and Congress is willing to abdicate responsibility of uncovering the truth to the United Nations.  The Administration’s Climategate denials and refusal to acknowledge the need for a Congressional investigation are a sad abdication of their responsibility to ensure that U.S. policies are not driven by corrupted science and data.”

This followed a letter that was sent earlier in the week by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), and David Vitter (R-LA) to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson calling for a “thorough and transparent investigation into the questions raised by the disclosure of emails from Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia (CRU)” and called on EPA to “withdraw the Proposed Endangerment Finding, as well as the Light Duty Vehicle Rule, and the Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule until the Agency can demonstrate that the science underlying these regulatory decisions has not been compromised.”

“This Administration used flawed science created by a community of bullies to push through ideologically based policies, said Issa.  “The suggestion that there is a scientific consensus on climate change is itself a myth.”

The letter, which is part of a broader investigation being conducted by the members, requests that the agency turn over all documents and records related to the communications or other interactions with the organization embroiled in the Climate dating from March 2007 through December 1, 2009.