OLYMPIA, WA – The Washington Department of Ecology has formally rejected a draft report from the U.S. Department of Energy that the Trump Administration is using to support rolling back federal climate regulations.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller said the report “lacks scientific integrity” and fails to account for decades of peer-reviewed research. Sixkiller urged the federal agency to withdraw the draft, calling it “a means crafted to justify a predetermined end.”

Governor Bob Ferguson also criticized the federal report, saying, “Climate change is real. The continued assault on science by the Trump Administration is putting the lives of Washingtonians at risk.”

Ecology’s letter alleges multiple areas where the draft report ignores evidence, including extreme heat, drought, ocean acidification, and worsening wildfires. State officials pointed to the 2021 heat dome, which killed 126 people, and noted that Washington has warmed nearly 2 degrees since 1900.

At the same time, Ecology released its own analysis in partnership with the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group. That report concludes Washington will see more intense flooding, summer droughts, and severe wildfire seasons if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.

Ecology’s findings also dispute federal claims that climate change impacts are overstated, pointing to billions of dollars in losses from drought, heatwaves, and marine disruptions.

Sixkiller said the state will continue to rely on the best available science to guide its climate policies. “Denying climate change by cherry-picking information won’t alter the reality on the ground,” he said.