Trump administration plans to dismantle leading climate centre

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration intends to dismantle one of the world’s leading climate research institutions over what it said on Dec 16 were concerns of “climate alarmism” despite opposition to the plan.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), established in 1960 as a federally funded research and education hub in Boulder, Colorado, will be broken up, White House Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought said on social media platform X.

Any of its operations deemed “vital” will be moved “to another entity or location”, he said.

“This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country,” Mr Vought said.

Moves to dismantle NCAR will begin immediately, USA Today reported, adding that the plan was to “fully close the centre’s Mesa Laboratory”.

Dr Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished NCAR scholar, told the Washington Post that breaking up the laboratory would result in a major loss of scientific research.

Dr Trenberth, an honorary academic in physics at New Zealand’s University of Auckland, said the centre was crucial to the search for advanced climate science discoveries.

Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement on Dec 16 that he had not been briefed on the plans by White House officials.

However, he said part of the NCAR’s work provides data on severe weather events “that help our country save lives and property, and prevent devastation for families”.

“If true, public safety is at risk and science is being attacked,” Mr Polis said. “If these cuts move forward, we will lose our competitive advantage against foreign powers and adversaries in the pursuit of scientific discovery.”

President Donald Trump has sought in his second term in office to roll back clean energy and climate initiatives established under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

Mr Trump has referred to climate change as a “con job” and, in a speech to the United Nations in September, called it the “biggest hoax ever perpetrated” against the world. AFP