U.S. Energy Department Includes "Climate Change" in Banned Terms List

(MENAFN) The U.S. Department of Energy has revised its internal list of terms deemed inappropriate for use, adding words such as “climate change,” “green,” and “decarbonization,” media reported.

The update follows an email sent to the Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which arrived shortly after President Donald Trump dismissed climate change during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

In the email, Rachel Overbey, acting director of external affairs, urged staff to “continue to be conscientious about avoiding any terminology that you know to be misaligned with the Administration’s perspectives and priorities,” according to media.

Additional terms reportedly included on the list are “emissions,” “energy transition,” “sustainability,” “clean” or “dirty” energy,” “carbon/CO2 footprint,” and “tax breaks/tax credits/subsidies.” While these terms have not been fully banned, their usage in internal and public communications is being strongly discouraged.

In his United Nations speech, President Trump referred to climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” claiming that earlier catastrophic predictions made in the name of human activity were “for bad reasons” and never came true. “If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail – and I’m really good at predicting things,” Trump said. He also touted his decision to withdraw from the “fake” 2015 Paris Climate Accord, a move he took during both his first term and again in the early days of his second administration.

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