Climate scientists launch initiative to replace halted US climate report

A coalition of climate scientists and data engineers launched an open‑access research collection on Tuesday, aiming to fill the gap left after the U.S. government halted the production of its flagship climate assessment report. The first paper uploaded to the new repository is a detailed roadmap for coordinated climate research, and it is already being cited as a critical reference for policymakers and scholars alike.

The move follows the abrupt termination of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program’s annual synthesis, a decision announced in late 2023 amid budget cuts and political pressure from lawmakers skeptical of climate findings. Critics warned that the loss would leave policymakers without a unified source of scientific guidance, complicating efforts to meet emissions targets and to plan for extreme weather events. In response, a loose network of federal, academic, and nonprofit researchers banded together to preserve the collaborative spirit of the original program and to keep a public, peer‑reviewed knowledge base alive.

The inaugural roadmap, authored by researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of Colorado, and several NGOs, outlines priority research questions for the next decade, including regional climate modeling, climate‑related health impacts, and data‑sharing standards. It also proposes a governance structure that relies on voluntary contributions and crowd‑sourced funding, rather than a single federal sponsor. Early reactions have been positive; the American Geophysical Union called the effort “a pragmatic solution to a bureaucratic impasse,” while several congressional staffers expressed hope that the collection could inform future legislation.

Going forward, the community collection will accept new papers, data sets, and model outputs on a rolling basis. Organizers plan to hold quarterly virtual workshops to prioritize topics and to seek modest grants from foundations and state agencies. If the model proves sustainable, it could become the de‑facto source for U.S. climate science, ensuring that research remains coordinated even without a formal government report. The success of this initiative will be measured by its ability to influence policy, attract funding, and maintain the rigorous standards that the terminated program once upheld.