In an interview with DeSmog, Michael Sununu says his report published by the Bartlett Center was written to raise questions about the New Hampshire Coastal Risk and Hazard Commissionโs (NHCRHC) work, which outlines threats to the stateโs coastal communities from climate change-related sea level rise, storm surge, and extreme precipitation.
โMy aim was to provide decision makers with all relevant data so that they are better informed as they make decisions based upon the NHCRHCโs report,โ he told DeSmogโs Itai Vardi.
What follows are highlights from this interview. DeSmogโs questions are in bold and Sununuโs answers follow in quotes.
Have you talked to your brother, Governor Chris Sununu, about your report? What do you expect him to do with it?
โI havenโt specifically talked to Chris about the report, but heard from his staff that they are reviewing it. The report was not aimed directly at any one particular person or called for any specific action, but was mainly aimed at putting the NHCRHC report into proper context.โ
Do you have any training or other background in climate science?
โIโm not claiming to be a climate scientist, but I have studied and written about the topic of climate change for the past 15 years. Throughout the years, Iโve written several op-eds published in local New Hampshire newspapers. I also gave a talk on climate change to the stateโs Business and Industry Association.โ
Did the Bartlett Center solicit or fund your report?
โNo, it was completely my initiative. I wrote the report after the NHCRHCโs report came out, and approached the Bartlett Center to interest them in publishing it. They did not pay me anything for it.โ
Doesnโt the Bartlett Centerโs previous funding from Koch related entities point to possible biases?
โI am unaware that the Center received any Koch money and I believe that in the past the Center denied ever receiving money from the Kochs.โ
And what about your own representation of clients in the energy and utility sectors?
โNone of my clients have any interests in the findings of my report. The entities that I represent are not influenced by it.โ
Read more about Michael Sununu, his report, and his unique position as a climate science denier with a brother, Chris Sununu, now governor of New Hampshire.
