Cyprus News Agency

Congress requires the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) to publish a new National Climate Assessment every four years to help leaders understand the driving forces and threats of global warming. It is the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the climate crisis, playing a key role in local and national decision-making in agriculture, energy production, and land and water use.

The next assessment was scheduled for 2027. However, NASA has now terminated its contract with the consulting firm ICF International, which coordinated the federal agencies involved in the USGCRP and contributed to the quadrennial report.

A federal employee involved in USGCRP activities, speaking anonymously to avoid repercussions, said: “There is really no turning back from this, and it means we will all have less information about climate impacts and won’t have access to the most current data on risks and threats.”

“USGCRP helped me leverage the resources of other agencies for my work. But without these networks, I’m left without a support system and access to the latest climate science,” they added.

Experts say the termination of the contract—first reported by Politico and confirmed by multiple sources to the Guardian—jeopardizes federal climate research.

The anonymous staff member added: “Laying off USGCRP personnel is collapsing the entire ecosystem of climate research and services, leaving climate teams already shaken by federal cuts due to Doge even more vulnerable.”