Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump's administration has fired the authors of the United States' premier climate report, a move scientists said threatens to derail a key assessment vital to preparing for global warming.
In an email sent to contributors of the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6) on Monday, the administration said the report's "scope" was being reevaluated and informed participants they were being "released from their roles."
The decision follows mass firings earlier this month at the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the body overseeing the congressionally required report, and marks the latest flashpoint in Trump's efforts to reshape the federal government.
"The people who work on this report are dedicated to informing the public about the latest scientific knowledge, how this might affect people, and what some of the options are to address climate change," Abby Frazier, a climatologist at Clark University who was set to author a chapter on Hawaii and US-affiliated Pacific Islands, told AFP.
"I am devastated by this news."
She added that the last report had helped people see how climate change affected their communities, particularly in the Pacific Islands.
Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a former author on NCA6's chapter on coastal impacts, blasted the move as reckless and politically motivated.
"The Trump administration senselessly took a hatchet to a crucial and comprehensive US climate science report by dismissing its authors without cause or a plan," she said in a statement.
"Trying to bury this report won't alter the scientific facts one bit, but without this information, our country risks flying blind into a world made more dangerous by human-caused climate change."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Other authors also took to social media to confirm they had received identical notices, expressing frustration and alarm.
Since returning to office, Trump has embarked on an aggressive overhaul of federal institutions, firing thousands of civil servants, including climate scientists and public health experts.
It has also steered agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Institutes of Health away from climate and environmental research.
The disruption of NCA6 comes at a perilous time: global temperatures have begun to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels, according to recent international analyses, fueling worsening wildfires, droughts, floods, and storms across the United States.
The National Climate Assessment, first published in 2000, is a cornerstone of US government climate understanding, synthesizing input from federal agencies and hundreds of external scientists.
Previous editions have warned in stark terms of mounting risks to America's economy, infrastructure and health if greenhouse gas emissions are not curtailed.
While not directly prescriptive on policy, the reports have served as guides for lawmakers, businesses, and local governments planning climate resilience.
Under the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the government is legally obligated to deliver the climate assessment to Congress and the president. It remains unclear whether the administration's actions will delay, compromise or cancel the report.