Opinion: Rolling back climate advances puts America at risk

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants to roll back progress while ignoring the threats to infrastructure and national security from a changing climate.

Former Wisconsin congressman and current US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently issued a memo calling for the elimination of nearly all Biden Administration “orders, directives, rules, regulations, notices, guidance documents, funding agreements, programs and policy statements” related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the previous administration, the department considered how the impacts of climate change, such as increased heat, wildfires, flooding and drought, could affect roads and other transportation infrastructure.

Notably, a 2020 report on managing climate risk by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission validates former President Biden’s climate goals. This document details the threat that climate change poses to America’s energy, water, transportation and communication infrastructure.

For example, it asserts that extreme precipitation, inundation from sea-level rise, extreme heat and forest fires “challenge nearly every element of transportation systems, from bridges and airports to pipelines and ports.”

I also want to draw attention to a remarkable document on climate change and national security. “A Climate Security Plan for America: A Presidential Plan for Combating the Security Risks of Climate Change” is signed by over 20 admirals and generals, including Rear Admiral David Titley, former Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy, and General Gordon Sullivan, former Chief of Staff of the US Army.

This comprehensive report asserts that increases in extreme weather “can devastate essential energy, financial and agricultural centers that undergird US and global economic viability and the well-being of our populations.” It calls for initiatives to improve the resilience of our critical infrastructure and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US and globally in order to avoid “catastrophic security consequences.”

Duffy’s memo is reminiscent of former Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) scrubbing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ website of references to climate change. 

The memo is also consistent with President Donald Trump’s mocking of the threat posed by global warming. Trump once declared, “Global warming is an expensive hoax!” 

To counter climate misinformation from the Trump Administration, I encourage reading “The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism.” It’s available online and provides an excellent summary of the lines of evidence that have led 200 science academies throughout the world, including the US National Academy of Sciences, to conclude that climate change is human-caused. Consider that the Israel Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran agree on this issue.

If one is serious about examining the issue of human-induced climate change, the place to start is understanding why scientists believe it.

In reality, however, the climate debate isn’t about science — it’s about the role of government. Many conservatives dismiss evidence of climate risk because they fear that acceptance of this evidence will lead to greater government intrusion in our lives. Science is a proxy debate.

Ever wonder why we don’t hear scores of angry voices claiming that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS? It’s because that scientific conclusion doesn’t threaten deeply held values.

In his book, “The Constitution of Liberty,” Nobel Prize-winning economist and libertarian Friedrich Hayek writes: “Personally, I find that the most objectionable feature of the conservative attitude is its propensity to reject well-substantiated new knowledge because it dislikes some of the consequences which seem to follow from it.”

Climate change poses great threats, such as sea level rise, more intense wildfires and the ravaging of the world’s coral reefs. Conservatives would be unlikely to tolerate this level of risk with regard to national defense or financial markets.

Prudence dictates that we also hedge against the risk of disastrous climate change.