Princeton professor who claims global warming is ‘good’ met Donald Trump
Trump has not yet named a science adviser
UPDATE: Princeton has returned our request for comment, and says Professor Happer “does not have an active appointment at the university.”
A spokesperson told The Tab:
“The University has no comment about Professor Happer’s meeting with Mr. Trump. He is a retired faculty member who does not have an active appointment at the university. He is entitled to use his emeritus title and will not be required to relinquish it even if he serves in the Trump administration and regardless of how long he serves there. No conflict of interest provisions would come into play.”
A Princeton professor who once said global warming “will be good for mankind” was spotted leaving Trump Tower yesterday after a meeting with the president-elect.
William Happer, a professor of physics at Princeton, has been repeatedly dismissive of the effects of climate change.
Happer did not respond to a request for comment from The Tab, and it is unclear whether he was tapped to serve in the Trump administration.
A number of positions in Trump’s administration remain unfilled, including the Deputy Secretary of Energy and the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Trump has expressed continuous skepticism of climate change throughout his presidential campaign. Last month he told Fox News: “I’m still open-minded. Nobody really knows.”
Happer is known in his field as a “lukewarmer” – someone who might accept some science behind climate change, but claims its impact is overblown.
A former Bush appointee, in 2015, Happer testified before the US Senate subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness chaired by Ted Cruz and asserted: “CO2 is not a pollutant and it is not a poison.”
It is widely accepted by the scientific community that while CO2 is an essential nutrient for most plants, accumulation of CO2 could result in elevated temperature, sea levels, and instances of extreme weather.
Happer also made clear his stance on the issue in multiple past interviews with the media. In a Wall Street Journal article titled “No Need to Panic About Global Warming,” Happer railed against proponents of climate change as “the international warming establishment.”
During one interview with CNBC, Happer said: “The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.”
He added: “Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.”
Happer once wrote in an essay: “The ‘climate crusade’ is one characterized by true believers, opportunists, cynics, money-hungry governments, manipulators of various types — even children’s crusades — all based on contested science and dubious claims.”
He also came under fire in 2015 when Greenpeace accused him of asking for a fee to be donated to the CO2 Coalition in exchange for conducting anti-climate change research.
Speaking to the New York Times, Happer said while he did exchange genuine emails with the pretend-representatives, he had not done anything improper.
“I don’t think I have anything to be embarrassed about,” he said.
Trump takes office in less than a week, as the Senate will begin confirming or rejecting his nominees after the inauguration on January 20th.