Climate sceptic group IPA suggested as co-host of Australian visit by Trump's environment chief

An organiser of Scott Pruitt’s Australian
  visit suggested the Institute of Public
Affairs should be a co-host. 

The climate sceptic thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs was mooted as a co-host of an Australian visit by Donald Trump’s beleaguered Environment Protection Agency head, Scott Pruitt, which may have included discussion with local officials on whether environmental deals should be changed or cancelled.

Emails released to the US environment group the Sierra Club under freedom of information laws show that Matthew Freedman, a Washington consultant who describes himself as “a close personal friend” of the Australian environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, played a central role in organising Pruitt’s proposed August trip before it was cancelled when Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas gulf coast.

In the US, the emails are of interest as evidence that Pruitt relied on business figures and lobbyists to plan and justify his overseas travel. They were first published by the New York Times.

Read Adam Morton’s story from The Guardian - “Climate sceptic group IPA suggested as co-host of Australian visit by Trump's environment chief.”