Washington: The Trump administration has taken a decisive step to limit public access to federally mandated climate reports. The move raises fresh concerns among scientists and environmental advocates about transparency and accountability in national climate policy.
Earlier this month, official government websites hosting the National Climate Assessments (NCAs), the most authoritative, peer-reviewed studies on how climate change is affecting the United States went dark.
These assessments, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, provide vital, location-specific information for state and local governments, policymakers, and the public to understand and prepare for climate-related risks such as floods, wildfires, and extreme heat.
At the time, the White House assured the public that NASA would take over hosting responsibilities for the reports to comply with legal requirements. But that plan has now been scrapped.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens confirmed that the agency would not be hosting the reports. “NASA has no legal obligations to host globalchange.gov’s data,” Stevens stated, adding that the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which oversees the assessments, met its statutory duty by submitting them to Congress.
Climate experts have denounced the move as a deliberate attempt to obscure vital scientific findings. Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and co-author of multiple climate assessments, said that, “These documents were written for the American people, paid for by taxpayers, and contain vital information we need to keep ourselves safe in a changing climate.”
Though some archived reports remain in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) internal library, public access to the latest data and interactive tools has been severely curtailed.
The most recent National Climate Assessment, published in 2023, highlights how climate change is already affecting Americans’ health, safety, and economic security.
As climate-related disasters continue to intensify across the US, experts argue that withholding this kind of science from the public is not just irresponsible, it’s dangerous.
By removing easy access to this critical data, the administration risks undermining the ability of communities to prepare for and adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
