Trump wants to halt climate research by key agency

(Patria) - The Trump administration, following its deeply skeptical approach to climate change, wants to seriously reduce the research arm of a government agency that plays a key role in global climate science, US media reported on Friday, AFP reported.

The administration plans to ask Congress, which sets budgets for federal agencies, to cut funding for research laboratories and offices overseeing climate studies at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to an internal White House document seen by CNN and Science magazine.

About 75 percent of funding for NOAA's research branch could be eliminated from the 2026 budget, a drastic cut for the agency that could be implemented starting this year.

The administration wants to eliminate jobs for hundreds of federal and academic scientists studying human-caused global warming, Science reports.

The cuts would be on top of at least 1,000 positions at NOAA that were eliminated last month under a drastic reduction in the workforce overseen by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Scientists say further cuts could have enormous consequences, given the agency's key role nationally and globally in weather forecasting, climate studies and fisheries conservation. Researchers and laboratories around the world rely on NOAA's data and mathematical models, so halting its research programs could have a drastic impact, scientists say.

It could also affect the US economy, given the heavy reliance of the agricultural sector and fishing industry on NOAA's weather forecasts and data.

Some conservatives see NOAA as a main culprit for what they call "climate alarmism."

The Trump administration has launched a coordinated attack on government resources related to climate, ordering mass layoffs and deleting websites with weather and climate data.