Dismissed climate scientists launch new research collection to fill national assessment void

More than a year after the Trump administration dismissed hundreds of scientists and stopped funding for the sixth National Climate Assessment, 175 independent researchers—including many former contributors—issued the opening volume of a special collection in the journals Earth’s Future and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Led by Melissa Kenney, the collection proposes research priorities like the hazards of sequential extreme events and highlights progress since the fifth assessment, such as better flood-risk characterization.

The American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society plan further studies to help state and local entities build their own climate assessments. The Trump administration, which appointed Matthew Wielicki to head the USGCRP and has sought to edit the 2023 report, has not confirmed whether a sixth assessment will be produced. Experts warn the gap could leave policymakers without essential climate information.