Global research outfit The World Resources Institute (WRI) has spoken out against several actions the Trump administration has taken since being inaugurated last Friday. Among the actions are the removal from the White House website of references to climate change, and a gag placed on staff of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday.

The Trump team circulated a memo to the EPA requiring scientists and other staff to immediately stop communicating with the public through any means, including press releases, social media, blog posts or new website content, the WRI explained.

Other agencies, including the US Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services received similar orders, but it’s the one to the EPA which Sam Adams, US director at WRI, finds especially troubling.

“Curtailing communications from these agencies will hinder their ability to provide clean air and water and protect people’s health across the country. The administration should lift these bans as soon as possible and ensure that the role of science is respected within our government agencies,” he said in a statement on the institute’s website.

“These actions will stem the free flow of information and have a chilling effect on staff in these agencies. This flies in the face of effective policymaking which requires an open exchange of ideas, supported by the best science and evidence available,” Adams said.

On the matter of scrubbing the website of nearly all references to climate change, Adams said: “It’s truly disturbing that one of the first actions by the Trump administration is to remove nearly all references to climate change from the White House website. This puts the new administration at odds with the vast majority of America’s scientists, military community and business leaders on this issue.

“The website’s lone climate reference is to eliminate the Climate Action Plan, which is a wholesale attack that flies in the face of common sense and would do harm to all Americans.

“Smart climate action, including support for the renewable energy industry, will create good jobs and new opportunities for people across the country. By expanding the renewable energy sector, the administration can help replace the shuttered factories that President Trump referred to in his inaugural speech.”

“If President Trump wants to make America safer and stronger, he would do well to look into the science, data and other evidence that clearly shows that human-caused climate change is happening and poses a significant threat to American families, businesses and the economy.”

Trump previously described climate change as a hoax made up by the Chinese. Members of his team have also previously denied the phenomenon but they appeared to have been softening their approach during the confirmation hearings.

Former Exxon boss Rex Tillerson, for example, who was confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the post of US Secretary of State, failed to make it clear that he would continue US leadership on climate. He however, repeatedly called for the US to keep a ‘seat at the table’ on the subject.

But WRI’s Paula Caballero, Global Director, Climate Program, said that’s not good enough.

“As the nation’s top diplomat, Tillerson has a responsibility to do what is best for the American people. While he repeatedly called for the US to keep a ‘seat at the table’ on climate change, this response is insufficient… He drastically understated the certainty scientists have about the severity of climate change and the urgency to address it. You don’t wait for a house fire to buy insurance — and in this case the house is already smoking.

“As Secretary of State, Tillerson will be confronted by overwhelming support from America’s most steadfast allies behind the historic Paris Agreement. Whether at the G7 or G20, Arctic Council or United Nations, climate change has become a core issue for international relations. The United States must do more than keep a ‘seat at the table’, it must continue to be a constructive player. This is a key opportunity for the Trump administration to build trust and demonstrate global leadership.

Also, Caballero said: “Continued action on climate will create jobs and drive growth at home, and it will reduce both the flow of refugees and greater instability around the world.”

Tillerson then, she added, now has a choice: “He can push forward guided by common sense and clear science, or he can turn his back on one of the defining issues of our time — in which case the United States and entire world loses.”

The Centres for Disease Control, meanwhile, cancelled a climate change conference it had scheduled for February.