Earth News from TerraDaily.com
Trump wants to halt climate research by key agency: reports
Washington, April 11 (AFP) Apr 11, 2025
The Trump administration, pursuing its deeply skeptical approach to climate change, wants to severely cut back the research arm of a government agency that plays a pivotal role in global climate science, US media reported Friday.

The administration plans to ask Congress, which sets the budgets for federal agencies, to cut funding for research labs and offices overseeing climate studies in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to an internal White House document consulted by CNN and the journal Science.

"Trump's budget plan for NOAA is both outrageous and dangerous," said Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House science committee, warning that the administration is "wholly destroying" essential services in a statement.

About 75 percent of funding for NOAA's research branch could be eliminated from the 2026 budget -- drastic cuts to the prestigious agency that could be implemented starting this year.

The administration wants to eliminate the jobs of hundreds of federal and academic scientists who study human-driven global warming, Science reported.

The cuts would be on top of at least 1,000 NOAA jobs eliminated last month under the drastic downsizing overseen by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Scientists say the further cuts could have enormous consequences, given NOAA's crucial role both nationally and globally in weather forecasting, climate studies and fisheries conservation.

Researchers and labs around the world rely on data and mathematical models from NOAA, so an end to its research programs could have a drastic impact, scientists say.

It could also affect the US economy, given the heavy dependence of the agricultural sector and fishing industry on NOAA weather predictions and data.

"This administration's hostility towards research and rejection of climate science will have the consequence of eviscerating the weather forecasting capabilities that this plan claims to preserve," Lofgren wrote.

"What NOAA does is crucial to the life-saving weather research and services that it provides to the American people."

Some conservatives see NOAA as a chief purveyor of what they call "climate alarmism."

The Trump administration has launched a concerted assault on the government's climate-related resources, ordering massive layoffs and deleting websites with data on the weather and climate.

The White House also wants to make budget cuts to a branch of NASA that is tasked with using satellites to study and monitor the effects of climate change, according to media reports.





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Heat Shields Emerging as Crucial Enabler of Reusable Spacecraft
NASA Uses Moonlight to Refine Satellite Earth Monitoring
SpaceX doubleheader: Spy satellites launched in California, then Starlink ones in Florida

24/7 Energy News Coverage
GE Hitachi moves forward with UK SMR bid
Two-dimensional semiconductors demonstrate space readiness for next-gen devices
Using liquid air for grid-scale energy storage

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Haywood Appointed to Lead Military Space Integration and Command Efforts
Rx Networks launches TruePoint FOCUS to deliver real-time centimeter precision
Saltzman details Space Force's international partnership strategy at Space Symposium

24/7 News Coverage
Missing nitrogen traced to deep Earth core in planetary formation simulations
EarthDaily Prepares to Launch Advanced Change Detection Satellite
Digging Gets Smarter with Trimble's Siteworks Upgrade for Excavators


ADVERTISEMENT



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.