Science in decline: dismantling of NCAR and withdrawal of the United States from international organizations, including the IPCC
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On his first day in office in January 2025, the President of the United States denounced the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, but on January 7, 2026, he withdrew his country from more than 60 international organizations, including the IPCC and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Académie des sciences - Mathieu Baumer
On his first day in office in January 2025, the President of the United States denounced the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, but on January 7, 2026, he withdrew his country from more than 60 international organizations, including the IPCC and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These brutal decisions, which severely curtail scientific resources at the national and international levels, also mark the ideological affirmation of a most disturbing mistrust of science. Most of these organizations are associated with the United Nations, and it is the world's scientific heritage that is being curtailed.
On December 16, 2025, the Trump administration's budget director announced the dissolution of NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, described as a “center for climate alarmism,” while indicating that some of its missions could be relocated to other sites. This policy, included in the recent budget proposal, does not only affect research in the United States: it jeopardizes one of the major foundations of global atmospheric and climate research. In addition, the administration has laid off a large number of people from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder and cut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding allocated to Colorado for the fight against climate change.
For six decades, NCAR has been at the forefront of atmospheric science internationally. It plays a key role in forecasting extreme weather events and analyzing the impact of human activities on the climate. The institution provides exceptional resources that are used worldwide: supercomputers, research aircraft, radars, databases, and reference models for researchers and operational services alike. Any reduction in these resources will have an immediate and lasting impact on the international scientific community.
The French Academy of Sciences affirms its solidarity with researchers in the United States of America during this difficult period. In a context marked by climate change and environmental crises, the Academy calls on scientists in France to mobilize to consolidate research capabilities in our country and throughout Europe. Given the wide range of scientific disciplines involved, this issue is crucial both for scientific sovereignty and for the pursuit of international efforts to develop coordinated, science-based responses to the global challenges of the 21st century.