Behind the scenes at the White House, however, the debate is playing out over whether to create a Presidential Committee on Climate Security stocked with independent scientific experts, or a working group of government scientists drawn from federal agencies.
Advocating for an independent panel is Princeton physicist Will Happer, National Security Council senior director for emerging technologies, who met two weeks ago with President Trump and National Security Advisor John Bolton in the Oval Office, according to two sources close to the discussions.
There is no timetable for a decision, but an announcement by the Trump administration could come as early as this month.
Roy Spencer, principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, described the idea of creating a review group comprised of federal researchers as redundant.
There are advantages to keeping such a panel in-house. Federal employees would not be subject to the same broad disclosure requirements as outsiders under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, including that they meet in public.
Using government researchers could also provide some political cover from attacks by Democrats and climate activists accusing the administration of trying to discredit federal reports on climate change, starting with the dire Fourth National Climate Assessment released in November.
One of those who co-authored the National Climate Assessment, UCS director of climate science Brenda Ekwurzel, said the report prepared by a dozen federal agencies and some outside experts had already been reviewed exhaustively by the National Academy of Sciences and undergone public comment.
"It seems completely superfluous to have another panel," said Ms. Ekwurzel, who holds a Ph.D. in isotope geochemistry.
Skeptics argue that federal research has become tainted by the involvement of activists and a grant process that rewards climate-disaster scenarios.
"What we should be looking at first and foremost is scientific truth, and having greater participation and a greater universe of scientists to draw from will help us get closer to the truth," Mr. Taylor said.