Trump environment nominee pressed on federal climate report

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as his top White House environmental adviser says she is unconvinced by a recent U.S. government assessment concluding that man-made carbon emissions are the primary cause of climate change.

Kathleen Hartnett White testified before a Senate committee Wednesday that carbon dioxide is a “plant nutrient,” not a pollutant. Pressed by Democrats about evidence linking carbon to global warming, White responded that she is not a scientist.

White, of Texas, stood by her past writings saying particulate pollution is not harmful. Asked about a medical study showing an epidemic of childhood asthma, White expressed confusion about whether that qualifies as a crisis.

White reversed her past opposition to federal biofuels mandates, an issue important to many farm-state Republicans, saying her writings relied on out-of-date data.