Trump administration fires authors of crucial climate report

In an email to contributors to the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6), the federal government announced that the "scope" of the report was being "reassessed" and that they were "released from their duties."

The move follows massive layoffs in early April at the U.S. Climate Change Research Program (USGCRP ), the federal agency responsible for overseeing the report, which by law must be submitted to Congress and the president.

Hundreds of researchers are involved in developing this document on the impact of climate change on all sectors, which is normally published every five years. The next edition was scheduled for 2027.

Although not mandatory, these reports are essential tools for legislators, businesses, and local governments in planning climate resilience measures.

“Today, the Trump administration senselessly gutted a crucial and comprehensive U.S. climate science report by firing its authors without cause,” Rachel Cleetus, author of the report’s chapter on the impact of warming on the coasts, protested in a statement. “Trying to bury this report won’t change the scientific facts, but without this information, our country risks navigating blindly into a world made more dangerous by human-caused climate change,” she said.