--- title: "White House Climate Scientist Sanctioned Over Paper Retraction" description: "A top White House climate official has been sanctioned by the nation's largest academic organization over some pretty serious ethical violations." date: "2022-08-17" modified: "2022-08-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/white-house-climate-scientist-sanctioned-retraction" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate science" - "ethics" - "marine science" - "national academy of sciences" - "sanctions" - "the digest" - "white house" --- # White House Climate Scientist Sanctioned Over Paper Retraction ![A top White House climate official has been sanctioned by the nation's largest academic organization over some pretty serious ethical violations.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Paper Trail A top White House climate official has been sanctioned by the nation's largest academic organization over some fairly serious-sounding ethical violations. First [reported by *Axios*](), the National Academy of Science's rare rebuke of Jane Lubchenco, the White House's deputy director for climate and environment, comes nearly a year after the organization's journal retracted an article she edited. As the [*Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* noted]() in its October 2021 retraction, Lubchenco violated the academy's code of conduct in a 2010 paper she edited by collaborating on other research with its authors — one of whom is her brother-in law, which is also disallowed by the organization. It's not the worst [academic scandal]() out there, but it does sound like dubious behavior for a leading White House climate scientist. ## Politicos Th**e** sanction, which the NAS said will bar Lubchenco from publishing with the academy or attending its events for five years, is particularly unsettling given that she's spent her tenure in the Biden Administration [promoting scientific integrity](). Conservatives have been calling on the NAS to investigate Lubchenco since the retraction, *Axios* notes, and [have accused her]() of putting her "thumb on the scales for friends and family." Of this ethical issue, which the NAS said violates its code of conduct, the White House climate aide was all apologies. "I accept these sanctions for my error in judgment in editing a paper authored by some of my research collaborators," Lubchenco said in a statement to *Axios*, adding that it was "an error for which I have publicly stated my regret." ## Job Security The *PNAS* retraction of a 2010 paper came down in October 2021, before Lubchenco joined the Biden Administration, *Axios* notes. The marine ecologist served as head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the Obama administration. For now, it looks like Lubchenco still has a job in the Biden White House — but with opponents seemingly vindicated by the sanctions, it's unclear how long that'll last. **READ MORE:** [White House climate official sanctioned by key science body]() \[*Axios*\] **More on ethics:** *[Researchers Asked An AI Whether AI Could Ever Be Ethical, And It Said No]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()