Future of Sixth National Climate Assessment Uncertain Amid Funding Cuts and Staffing Changes
Russell Vought, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Trump administration, sparked controversy by previously suggesting the scrapping of the National Climate Assessment and dismissing scientists involved in its creation. Now, the future of the Sixth National Climate Assessment hangs in the balance due to funding cuts and staffing changes.
Vought, who led the OMB during the Trump administration, had proposed abandoning the National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive report on climate change's impacts on the U.S. This suggestion raised concerns among scientists and environmental advocates. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's decision to cancel funding for coordinating the assessment has further jeopardized its progress.
The Sixth National Climate Assessment, scheduled for 2028, relies heavily on ICF International's staff and support. However, NASA's cancellation of a contract with ICF International, along with the administration's cuts to cooperative agreements between U.S. universities and federal agencies, has left the assessment's future uncertain. Federal officials involved in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) now consider it unlikely that the assessment will proceed without ICF International's involvement.
Congress has mandated the continuation of the Sixth National Climate Assessment, but its completion is now in serious doubt due to funding cuts and staffing changes. The assessment's fate rests on the potential reinstatement of funding and the involvement of ICF International, which has been instrumental in the logistical work of the assessment.
