Trump administration rescinds commitment to post significant climate change reports on NASA's official site
Earlier this month, the official government websites hosting the authoritative, peer-reviewed national climate assessments went dark, causing concern among climate scientists and the public. However, due to public and institutional pressure, these reports have remained accessible, reflecting a reversal in the initial plans to remove them from NASA's site.
The latest National Climate Assessment, issued in 2023, found that climate change is affecting people's security, health, and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority communities, particularly Native Americans, often disproportionately at risk. John Holdren, former Obama White House science adviser and climate scientist, has accused the current administration of outright lying and long intended to censor or bury the reports.
The Trump administration has made it harder to find major, legally mandated scientific assessments of climate change, and NASA was planning to remove the National Climate Assessments from their website following a decision by the administration. This move was part of a broader hesitation from the administration regarding the dissemination of national climate information.
However, the planned removal was met with criticism, and the reports remain accessible through other means. NASA had initially planned to host the reports, but on Monday announced that it aborted those plans. The government agency responsible for overseeing and hosting the report (USGCRP) met its statutory requirements by presenting its reports to Congress.
According to Holdren, the National Climate Assessments provide valuable information about what to expect in various locations from a warming world and how best to adapt to it. He emphasises the importance of state and local governments and everyday people seeing the National Climate Assessments, as they are written in a way that is useful for understanding the effects of climate change on them.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens stated that NASA has no legal obligations to host globalchange.gov's data. Despite this, Holdren accuses the administration of offering a modest consolation to quell initial outrage, only to later snatch it away without apology. Copies of past reports can still be found in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's library, and the latest report and its interactive atlas can be found online.
The ongoing controversy surrounding the National Climate Assessments highlights the importance of transparency and access to climate information, as the reports play a crucial role in helping communities prepare for and adapt to the effects of climate change.
- The National Climate Assessment, published in 2023, reveals that climate change is impacting people's security, health, and livelihoods in various ways across the country, with minority communities like Native Americans often bearing a disproportionate risk.
- John Holdren, a former Obama White House science adviser and climate scientist, criticizes the current administration for outright lying and their intention to censor or bury these crucial reports.
- Initially, the Trump administration made it difficult to find major, legally mandated scientific assessments of climate change, and NASA planned to remove the National Climate Assessments from their website following the administration's decision.
- However, the removal of these reports was met with criticism, and they remain accessible through other means, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's library and online resources.
- The ongoing controversy over the National Climate Assessments underscores the significance of transparency and access to climate information, as these reports are crucial for helping communities prepare and adapt to the effects of climate change.
