US dismisses all authors of National Climate Assessment, says e-mail
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Students, researchers and demonstrators rally during a "Kill the Cuts" protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles on April 8.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s administration has dismissed all contributors to the US government’s signature study that informs federal and local governments on how to prepare for climate change impacts, according to an e-mail sent to them on April 28.
The dismissal of nearly 400 contributors to the sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6), which is mandated by Congress, leaves the future of the report in doubt since the multi-year, peer-reviewed analysis is due for publication in 2028.
“At this time, the scope of the NCA6 is being evaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990,” the e-mail, seen by Reuters, said, referring to the legislation that kick-started the assessments that was signed by then Republican President George H.W. Bush.
The climate assessment had been overseen by the Global Change Research Programme, which the Trump administration dismissed earlier in April, and had coordinated input from 14 federal agencies and hundreds of external scientists.
Its findings were meant to inform federal agencies and lawmakers for decision-making around climate policy and funding priorities.
The last assessment, published in 2023, said climate change was increasingly imposing costs on Americans, as prices rise for weather-related insurance or certain foods, and as medical care becomes more expensive as people face threats like extreme heat.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the e-mail.
Mr Trump’s administration has targeted scientific research in several areas in sweeping government job cuts to curtail what it calls wasteful spending, including at the National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The climate assessment was a target of Project 2025, the right-wing Heritage Foundation-written policy blueprint that has helped shape some of Mr Trump’s policies.
Project 2025‘s chapter on scientific agencies said the National Climate Assessment should be reshaped to ensure contributors are better scrutinised. REUTERS
