'Editing' of global warming reports defended

'Editing' of global warming reports defended

By ANDREW C. REVKIN AND MATTHEW L. WALD
THE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON -- A House committee released documents Monday that showed hundreds of instances in which a White House official who was previously an oil-industry lobbyist edited government climate reports to play up uncertainty or play down evidence of a human role in global warming.

In a hearing of the House Oversight Committee, the official, Philip Cooney, defended his editing in government reports, saying it was part of the normal White House review process and reflected findings in a climate report written for President Bush by the National Academy of Sciences in 2001.

They were the first public statements on the issue by Cooney, the former chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Before joining the White House, Cooney was the "climate team leader" for the American Petroleum Institute, the main industry lobby in Washington.

He was hired by Exxon Mobil after resigning in 2005 following New York Times reports on the editing. The White House said his resignation was not related to the disclosures.