Scientific and International Resources
Rep. Waxman's History of Activities on Climate Change
Recent Activity of the Government Reform Committee Minority

Scientific and International Sources on Global Warming

1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
This international treaty, to which the U.S. is a party, established the goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference” with the climate system.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Third Assessment Report – Climate Change 2001: Summary for Policy Makers
This report projects that global temperatures will rise between 1.4-5.8°C by the end of the century if current greenhouse gas emissions trends continue.

Consensus statement of eleven National Academies on climate change
In this joint statement, eleven National Academies call on all nations to take prompt action to reduce the causes of climate change.

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber et al. (eds.), Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, 2006 
This report, issued by the British government, documents the findings of a recent international scientific conference addressing potential impacts of climate change.  The report documents the grave risks that would accompany a 2°C global temperature rise, including the disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet and the severe loss of mountain snow pack in the Western United States. 

Kerry Emmanuel, Increasing Destructiveness of Tropical Cyclones Over the Past 30 Years, Nature (August 2005)
This article, written by an atmospheric scientist at MIT, attributes increased hurricane frequency and intensity, in part, to global warming.       

P.J. Webster et. al, Changes in Tropical Cyclone Number, Duration, and Intensity in a Warming Environment, Science (September 2005)
This article from Science links the increased number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes over the past 35 years to the warming of the ocean’s surface.

Chris D. Thomas et. al, Extinction Risk From Climate Change, Nature (January 2004)
This article predicts that climate change will lead to the extinction of 18-34% of the world’s plant and animal species by 2050 if current emissions trends continue.

EPA, Global Warming - Impacts
This EPA webpage explains a wide range of impacts that climate change could cause in the U.S., including increased flooding, loss of wetlands, decreased water quality, and increased occurrence of infectious diseases.

University of California at Berkeley, Emissions Pathways, Climate Change, and Impacts on California, January 2004 
This report predicts that climate change could cause an increase in extreme heat waves, significant loss of snow pack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, disruption of the water supply, and significant loss of alpine/subalpine forests in California. 

U.S. Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks
This data documents the increase in total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2004.

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004
This data, put out by the Department of Energy, shows that largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. are electricity generation and passenger vehicles.

Pew Center on Climate Change report on worldwide greenhouse gas emissions data
This Pew Center report evaluates each nation’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and finds that the U.S. is responsible for 20.6% of annual emissions.

World Health Organization, The World Health Report 2002
This WHO report states that global warming already claims the lives of 150,000 people worldwide each year.

Chart: Projected Global Warming Emissions Under Business-as-Usual vs. Emissions Targets of the Safe Climate Act.

History of Rep. Waxman's Activities on Climate Change

Global Warming Protection Act from 1992

Rep. Waxman's participation on International Negotiations on Global Warming

In 1997, governments from around the world came together in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate a binding agreement to address the threat of global warming.  This meeting was the Third Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In anticipation of this meeting, Rep. Waxman cosponsored a bipartisan resolution (H. Con. Res.106) with Congressman Gilchrest and 10 other colleagues calling for a strong agreement that would be fair, enforceable, and contain legally binding targets and timetables beginning in 2005 for reducing greenhouse gas emissions substantially below 1990 levels. On November 19, 1997, Rep. Waxman sent a letter to President Clinton and the agencies outlining some of his concerns about potential loopholes in the treaty. In December of that year, Rep. Waxman was a member of the House Delegation to the Conference in Kyoto Japan. He advocated action to address the threat of climate change, and highlighted the need to do better in implementing the responsibilities set forth at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. 

After agreement was reached in Kyoto, Katie McGinty, Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, wrote to Rep. Waxman to inform him that his participation had been “invaluable.”

H. Con. Res. 106
Letter to President Clinton
Letter from Kathleen McGinty

Activities of the Oversight Committee

Historical Committee Fact Sheets

March 19, 2007
Committee Examines Political Interference with Climate Science
Chairman Waxman held a hearing continuing the Committee's examination of evidence and allegations of political interference with the work of government climate change scientists under the current Administration.

February 26, 2007
CEQ Commits to Producing Requested Documents
In a letter to CEQ Chairman James Connaughton, Chairman Waxman reviews an agreement reached with CEQ related to the production of documents requested by the Oversight Committee

February 20, 2007
Chairman Waxman Requests National Academy of Sciences Report
As Congress considers policies to address two of the most pressing issues facing the nation -- human-caused global warming and U.S. dependence on oil – Chairman Waxman requests that the National Academy of Sciences convene an expert panel to examine the key environmental and economic issues related to biofuels and liquid fuels derived from coal.

January 30, 2007
Committee Holds Hearing on Political Influence on Government Climate Change Scientists
The Oversight Committee held a hearing on January 30 regarding political interference in the work of government climate change scientists. In preparation for the hearing, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis requested documents from the Council on Environmental Quality related to allegations that officials edited scientific reports and took other actions to minimize the significance of climate change

January 23, 2007
Statement of Rep. Henry A. Waxman on the State of the Union Address
Chairman Waxman's response to the State of the Union address.

January 22, 2007
Request to Council on Environmental Quality for Documents Related to Climate Change Activities
Chairman Waxman reiterates a request to CEQ Chairman James Connaughton for documents related to CEQ's actions related to editing scientific reports on global warming.

September 26, 2006
100+ Members of Congress Urge EPA to Allow States to Tackle Global Warming
Rep. Waxman and more than 100 colleagues call upon EPA to allow states to move forward with stronger state auto emissions standards to fight global warming pollution.

September 21, 2006
Rep. Waxman's Remarks on Climate Change
At a hearing today, Rep. Waxman spoke about the Bush Administration's poor record on climate change and the need for a new direction in overcoming the challenges presented by global warming.

September 19, 2006
Rep. Waxman Releases Internal Commerce Department E-Mails on Climate Change
Rep. Waxman requests Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez explain emails that appear to show that his office denied a media request to interview a NOAA scientist who had concluded that global warming may lead to more dangerous hurricanes.

July 20, 2006
Committee Requests Bush Administration Climate Change Documents
In a letter to the President's Council on Environmental Quality, Ranking Member Waxman and Chairman Davis request documents related to CEQ’s review and editing of government reports on global warming.

March 2, 2006
Rep. Waxman and Sen. Kerry Again Question Administration's Emissions Claims
In a follow-up to the Administration's response to their Jan. 26, 2006, letter that questioned Dr. Paula Dobriansky's statements that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have fallen in recent years, Rep. Waxman and Sen. Kerry remind Dr. Dobriansky that under this Administration, U.S. emissions have hit their highest level ever.

January 26, 2006
Rep. Waxman and Sen. Kerry Question Administration's Emissions Claims
In a letter, Rep. Waxman and Sen. Kerry ask Dr. Paula Dobriansky to explain why, as head of the U.S. delegation to the UN Conference on Climate Change, she stated that U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases had fallen, when in fact they have risen by 3.5% during the Bush Administration.

July 26, 2005
Energy Bill (H.R. 6) Fails Americans in Four Fundamental Areas
Reps. Waxman, Markey, Solis and Capps release a report examining how H.R. 6 undermines national security, harms the environment, wastes tax dollars, and costs the American consumer.

July 1, 2005
Rep. Waxman Questions Treatment of Climate Scientists
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton has opened an investigation into prominent experts on global warming, an effort that Rep. Waxman writes "some may interpret ... as a transparent effort to bully and harass" the scientists.

June 22, 2005
Bush Administration Politicized Climate Change Science
Reps. Waxman and Olver write to colleagues about the Bush Administration's tampering with climate change science.

June 9, 2005
GAO Asked to Investigate White House Interference with Climate Change Reports
Waxman and Sen. Kerry ask GAO to look into a recent whistleblower report that former oil industry lobbyist Phillip A. Cooney altered government scientific reports on global warming and that the "White House so successfully politicized the science program that" it became necessary for the whistleblower to resign.