For Daniel Kammen, withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement was bad enough.
But when U.S. President Donald Trump failed to openly condemn neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the wake of violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., that was a step too far for the now-former science envoy to the Department of State.
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The University of California energy professor tweeted his resignation from the envoy position on Wednesday, posting a note whose every paragraph started with letters that, together, spelled out the word “I-M-P-E-A-C-H.”
“My decision to resign is in response to your attacks on core values of the United States,” Kammen wrote.
“Your failure to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazis has domestic and international ramifications.”
He went on to say that Trump’s response to the Charlottesville protests is “consistent with a pattern of behavior that enables sexism and racism, and disregards the welfare of all Americans, the global community and the planet.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump omits ‘many sides’ line as he defends Charlottesville remarks in Phoenix
But Kammen also took issue with Trump’s withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, making it one of only three countries that will not be part of the agreement, alongside Nicaragua and Syria.
“Your decision to abdicate the leadership opportunities and the job creation benefits of the Paris Climate Accord, and to undermine energy and environmental research are not acceptable to me,” he wrote.
Kammen, an expert in renewable energy, was appointed as a U.S. science envoy on March 31, 2016, during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Academics and other experts are appointed as envoys as part of a program in which they meet with governments around the world in an effort to foster international relationships in areas such as science, technology and engineering.
Kammen said at the time of his appointment that he would focus on areas such as energy innovation in Africa and the Middle East, and the Paris accord.
He was a number of science envoys to serve at the same time; six remain, according to the State Department’s website.
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