Trump Moves to Halt Climate Research at Top U.S. Agency

Quick Summary

• The White House has proposed shutting down the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Governance’s (NOAA) climate research office, a key institution for studying climate change impacts.
• NASA’s Earth science programs are also expected to face funding cuts in this proposal.
• These measures follow earlier moves aimed at reducing emphasis on climate change research within U.S. government agencies.

Indian Opinion Analysis
Efforts to scale back funding for NOAA and NASA’s Earth science programs underscore a meaningful shift in U.S. government priorities away from climate-focused initiatives. For India, a nation vulnerable to the effects of global warming such as rising sea levels and extreme weather events, reduced cooperation or data sharing with leading global climate research bodies like NOAA may have downstream consequences for its own environmental planning and resilience efforts. As scientific collaboration is vital for addressing global challenges, this advancement could introduce hurdles to India’s access to critical international datasets needed for policy formulation around sustainability and disaster mitigation systems.

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