Experts raise red flags as White House makes concerning U-turn on vital public resource: 'Doesn't want people to know'

The Trump administration has once again reversed a major decision regarding vital climate-based assessments, and many experts are sounding the alarm.

What's happening?

In June, the Trump administration revealed that it was shutting down the U.S. Global Change Research Program's website, globalchange.gov, which hosted the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessments as well as other climate research.

This decision removed public access to extensive data on how climate-related issues impact the United States.

The move was criticized by scientists who viewed it as an attempt to hinder the nation's ability to prepare for the future.

As reported by The Associated Press, NASA then announced on July 3 that "all preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting."

Despite this, the Trump administration appears to have changed its mind regarding the data for a second time.

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"The USGCRP met its statutory requirements by presenting its reports to Congress. NASA has no legal obligations to host globalchange.gov's data," NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens wrote in an email.

Why is the removal of public access to the National Climate Assessment concerning?

According to Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University, the lack of National Climate Assessment hosting could leave the public uninformed.

Hayhoe, who has co-authored multiple National Climate Assessments, derided the decision by the Trump administration.

"This document was written for the American people, paid for by the taxpayers, and it contains vital information we need to keep ourselves safe in a changing climate, as the disasters that continue to mount demonstrate so tragically and clearly," Hayhoe told the AP.

Hayhoe's sentiments were echoed by John Holdren, a fellow climate scientist and former science adviser during the Obama administration. Holdren criticized the current administration's direction regarding climate-based data, accusing it of intentionally keeping the public in the dark.

"They simply don't want the public to see the meticulously assembled and scientifically validated information about what climate change is already doing to our farms, forests, and fisheries, as well as to storms, floods, wildfires, and coast property — and about how all those damages will grow in the absence of concerted remedial action," Holdren wrote in an email to the AP. "Trump doesn't want people to know."

What's being done about the rising global temperatures?

As noted by the most recent National Climate Assessment, released in 2023, the more the planet warms, the greater the impacts will be.

"Without rapid and deep reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, the risks of accelerating sea level rise, intensifying extreme weather, and other harmful climate impacts will continue to grow," the report reads.

To help combat this, 195 countries adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015. The initiative aims to limit the rise of the global temperature to below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit compared with preindustrial levels. It involves a series of commitments from participating countries to reduce planet-warming gas pollution and promote the advancement of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar power.

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