Trump administration cuts contracts for National Climate Assessment
The Trump administration is cutting contracts that funded work on the National Climate Assessment — which is published every few years and details how climate change impacts the U.S. — as well as other climate activity. Records show that NASA has canceled several deals with contractor ICF, including those supporting work on the climate assessment...
The Trump administration is cutting contracts that funded work on the National Climate Assessment — which is published every few years and details how climate change impacts the U.S. — as well as other climate activity.
Records show that NASA has canceled several deals with contractor ICF, including those supporting work on the climate assessment and the global Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment.
“In compliance with an Executive Order, NASA is streamlining its contract providing technical, analytical, and programmatic support for the U.S. Global Change Research Program,” said NASA spokesperson Amber Jacobson, referring to the program that conducts the National Climate Assessment.
Jacobson said the agency was working with the White House “on how to best support the congressionally-mandated program while also increasing efficiencies across the 14 agencies and advisory committee supporting this effort.”
The cuts were first reported by Politico.
The targeting of the program is not necessarily a surprise, as President Trump has long denied the scientifically established fact that climate change is real and is linked to extreme weather. He has also sought to cut other programs and regulations related to the issue.
In 1990, Congress established the Global Change Research Program to coordinate climate change research. In 2023, it released the Fifth National Climate Assessment, and according to its website, it is working on the sixth assessment.
Critics expressed concern about the cuts to the program.
“Federal agencies and hundreds of scientists across the nation help to build this invaluable scientific foundation so decision makers, businesses and the public have the information they need to protect people, vital infrastructure, the economy, food production, ecosystems and more,” said a written statement from Brenda Ekwurzel, a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“The Trump administration is trying to bury the facts about climate change and the damage it’s wreaking on public health and safety as it runs counter to the corrupt agenda of his fossil fuel industry allies. Meanwhile, people in the United States are reeling from worsening heatwaves, floods, wildfires and storms,” added Ekwurzel, who was a co-author of the Fourth National Climate Assessment.
