Latest news with #GlobalChangeResearchActof1990
Economist
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Economist
America is slashing its climate research
The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires the American government to regularly produce 'National Climate Assessments'—weighty scientific tomes that detail the impacts of climate change and the ways in which people and businesses throughout the nation might best adapt to them. John Holdren, who was Barack Obama's science and technology adviser, recalls that, when he visited the offices of 'mayors and city planners and governors [they would] ask me to sign their copies of the document, because they found it so useful'.
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Science
- CBS News
After Trump dismisses hundreds of scientists working on climate report, two groups say they'll publish their work
After the Trump administration dismissed nearly 400 scientists who compile the nation's major quadrennial report on the impacts of climate change in the U.S., two scientific groups announced a plan to publish a special collection focused on the subject to ensure the scientists' work can be accessed. The American Geophysical Union, the world's largest association of earth and space scientists, and the American Meteorological Society, the professional society for atmospheric and related sciences and services, announced they would be inviting climate scientists and researchers to submit their work for what they said would be a "first of its kind" collection. The groups say their collection isn't meant to replace the National Climate Assessment, but would complement it, since the dismissal of hundreds of scientists suggests that the next National Climate Assessment may not be as extensive as the previous ones. The Trump administration is legally obligated to produce the assessment, but the White House told CBS News that it's evaluating the scope of the assessment that it will publish. The National Climate Assessment is a major publication produced every four years that summarizes the impacts of climate change in the U.S., and it is congressionally mandated under the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The sixth edition is scheduled for publication in 2027, and preparations have been underway for months to meet that deadline. The assessment helps federal, state and local governments and businesses to prepare for the impacts of climate change and adapt to and mitigate challenges arising from climate change. American Meteorological Society president David Stensrud praised the National Climate Assessment as "a comprehensive, rigorous integration and evaluation of the latest climate science knowledge that decision makers — from government at all levels to private enterprise — need in order to understand the world in which we live." He said it's "vital to support and help expand this collaborative scientific effort" to benefit the U.S. and the world. The American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society told CBS News in an email that their new effort will be a "collection of scientific papers from across multiple journals that address a particular topic," and the focus on the collection will be climate change in the United States. American Geophysical Union president Brandon Jones said in a statement, "This collaboration provides a critical pathway for a wide range of researchers to come together and provide the science needed to support the global enterprise pursuing solutions to climate change." The two organizations will open the effort to any scientists who want to submit original work or review articles. Authors who were released from writing the sixth National Climate Assessment are being encouraged to participate and submit their work. The AGU and AMS have not determined when this new collection of climate change research will be published. The groups told CBS News in an email that it's likely to take months, or even years, to produce the full catalogue of research, since every submission will need to undergo a rigorous peer-review process.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Private organizations step up to do science that was cut back by the Trump administration
After the Trump administration dismissed hundreds of authors working on the next National Climate Assessment, two science societies announced an effort to publish a special collection of climate change research in its stead. The Trump administration notified researchers earlier this week that their work was no longer needed on the National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report that summarizes the effects of global climate change in the United States. The report's future is no longer clear and some authors have expressed concern that it will be whittled down, unscientific or inadequate in expressing the risks of climate change. 'I'm certainly concerned it might be fulfilled in a way that's less rigorous and evidence-based,' said Robert Kopp, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Rutgers University, who was one of the recently dismissed National Climate Assessment authors. In the wake of the administration's action, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and American Meteorological Society (AMS) announced Friday that they would develop a special collection of research focused on climate, according to a news release from both organizations. The new collection, to be spread among more than two dozen peer-reviewed journals, is designed to 'sustain the momentum' of the work being done on the National Climate Assessment after the authors and staff were dismissed, the news release said. In a statement, AGU President Brandon Jones said the special collection was not a 'replacement' for the National Climate Assessment, but that it offered 'a unique opportunity to publish new research and review articles that could underpin a U.S.-focused climate assessment.' The White House declined to comment on record on why National Climate Assessment authors were released, and what the administration's plans are for the National Climate Assessment. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) to submit a report every four years to the president and Congress, and the National Climate Assessment has fulfilled that obligation in the past. It contains a summary of the best available science about the physics of climate change, its effects on the United States and how society is adapting. The report also contains localized climate predictions for different regions of the United States, which are meant to give the public a better idea of the risks facing their communities. The most recent version of the report, which was released in 2023, was about 2,200 pages and contained 37 chapters. The 2023 assessment said the Lower 48 states had warmed by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit on average since 1970 and that the country was dealing with increasingly extreme weather and costly disasters. 'If you're a state official, a businessperson or a member of the general public who wants to understand what is it we know about climate change and the economy, or climate change and coasts, or climate change and human health, you can't do that by reading 200 peer-reviewed papers,' Kopp said, adding that the National Climate Assessment synthesizes climate science and organizes the main findings. While the National Climate Assessment is the product of hundreds of researchers who volunteer their time, the report has been organized by staffers at USGCRP. In April, the White House ended funding for that organization. 'I have no ideas for what the plan is and I don't think anybody does,' Kopp said. 'They released all the authors and the staff of the Global Change Research Program, so that part of the government is vacant now.' A message on the USGCRP website now says: 'The operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review.' Kopp said the National Climate Assessment authors had spent about a year outlining chapters to include in the 2027 report, and reviewing themes to include. The outline had already been sent to federal agencies for review. Authors of the report are now assessing how that outline could be transferred. 'You're not going to be able to replicate the NCA unless there's an organization willing to step up and staff up,' Kopp said. This article was originally published on
NBC News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Private organizations step up to do science that was cut back by the Trump administration
After the Trump administration dismissed hundreds of authors working on the next National Climate Assessment, two science societies announced an effort to publish a special collection of climate change research in its stead. The Trump administration notified researchers earlier this week that their work was no longer needed on the National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report that summarizes the effects of global climate change in the United States. The report's future is no longer clear and some authors have expressed concern that it will be whittled down, unscientific or inadequate in expressing the risks of climate change. 'I'm certainly concerned it might be fulfilled in a way that's less rigorous and evidence-based,' said Robert Kopp, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Rutgers University, who was one of the recently dismissed National Climate Assessment authors. In the wake of the administration's action, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and American Meteorological Society (AMS) announced Friday that they would develop a special collection of research focused on climate, according to a news release from both organizations. The new collection, to be spread among more than two dozen peer-reviewed journals, is designed to 'sustain the momentum' of the work being done on the National Climate Assessment after the authors and staff were dismissed, the news release said. In a statement, AGU President Brandon Jones said the special collection was not a 'replacement' for the National Climate Assessment, but that it offered 'a unique opportunity to publish new research and review articles that could underpin a U.S.-focused climate assessment.' The White House declined to comment on record on why National Climate Assessment authors were released, and what the administration's plans are for the National Climate Assessment. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) to submit a report every four years to the president and Congress, and the National Climate Assessment has fulfilled that obligation in the past. It contains a summary of the best available science about the physics of climate change, its effects on the United States and how society is adapting. The report also contains localized climate predictions for different regions of the United States, which are meant to give the public a better idea of the risks facing their communities. The most recent version of the report, which was released in 2023, was about 2,200 pages and contained 37 chapters. The 2023 assessment said the Lower 48 states had warmed by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit on average since 1970 and that the country was dealing with increasingly extreme weather and costly disasters. 'If you're a state official, a businessperson or a member of the general public who wants to understand what is it we know about climate change and the economy, or climate change and coasts, or climate change and human health, you can't do that by reading 200 peer-reviewed papers,' Kopp said, adding that the National Climate Assessment synthesizes climate science and organizes the main findings. While the National Climate Assessment is the product of hundreds of researchers who volunteer their time, the report has been organized by staffers at USGCRP. In April, the White House ended funding for that organization. 'I have no ideas for what the plan is and I don't think anybody does,' Kopp said. 'They released all the authors and the staff of the Global Change Research Program, so that part of the government is vacant now.' A message on the USGCRP website now says: 'The operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review.' Kopp said the National Climate Assessment authors had spent about a year outlining chapters to include in the 2027 report, and reviewing themes to include. The outline had already been sent to federal agencies for review. Authors of the report are now assessing how that outline could be transferred. 'You're not going to be able to replicate the NCA unless there's an organization willing to step up and staff up,' Kopp said.
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Two Scientific Groups Say They'll Keep Working on U.S. Climate Assessment
The Trump administration last week dismissed the nearly 400 authors of the nation's flagship climate report, saying in an email that the scope of the report was being reviewed. The move threw the future of the report, known as the National Climate Assessment, into limbo. On Friday, two major U.S. scientific organizations, the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society, announced a plan to publish the authors' work as originally planned. 'It's incumbent on us to ensure our communities, our neighbors, our children are all protected and prepared for the mounting risks of climate change,' Brandon Jones, the president of the union and a program director with the National Science Foundation, said in the statement. 'This collaboration provides a critical pathway for a wide range of researchers to come together and provide the science needed to support the global enterprise pursuing solutions to climate change. ' The National Climate Assessment is a comprehensive review of the latest climate science that gauges how climate change is affecting the country and what can be done to adapt and mitigate its effects. There have been five published since 2000. The sixth edition was scheduled to be published in early 2028. The new effort would not replace the federal report, which is Congressionally mandated, the statement from the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When the authors of the National Climate Assessment, known as NCA6, were dismissed, the email they received said that 'the scope of the report is currently being re-evaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990.' That legislation created the U.S. Global Change Research Program, where the administration cut staff and funds in April. It is not clear whether the administration will proceed with the assessment in a revised form, try to circumvent Congress and cancel it entirely, or pursue another path. 'This effort cannot replace NCA6, which undergoes thorough public and governmental review,' said Jason West, an environmental scientist at the University of North Carolina who led the air quality chapter in the previous assessment. 'Nonetheless, it gives author teams that had already begun working an opportunity to complete and publish their work.' Authors on the report had been working for about a year planning their chapters, which covered topics including updating climate models and urban adaptations to heat. Scientists highlighted that the National Climate Assessment is unique in its breadth, depth and rigor, and that the government's role in publication has in the past provided weight and credibility to the report. Having their volunteer roles suddenly and summarily canceled was disheartening, scientists said. For some, the announcement from the scientific societies was a welcome sign that their work could continue, similar to how authors of the inaugural National Nature Assessment pressed on to publish their work. 'The AGU/AMS effort can support momentum on climate science after recent setbacks,' said Costa Samaras, a civil engineer at Carnegie Mellon University who would have led the climate mitigation chapter, in an email. It's 'a reminder that science is unstoppable.'
