"EPA Scientific Integrity Office Reviewing Pruitt's Comments On Carbon"

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's scientific integrity watchdog is reviewing whether EPA chief Scott Pruitt violated the agency's policies when he said in a television interview he does not believe carbon dioxide is driving global climate change, according to an email seen by Reuters on Friday.

Lawyers for environmental group the Sierra Club had asked the EPA's Office of Inspector General to check whether Pruitt violated policy when he told a CNBC interviewer on March 9, 'I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.'

The EPA Inspector General's office responded to the Sierra Club on Thursday in an email, saying it had referred the matter to the EPA's Scientific Integrity Officer, Francesca Grifo, for review."

Emily Flitter reports for Reuters March 31, 2017.