ClimateWire | The Trump administration’s sudden retreat from global climate action threatens to delay pivotal scientific reports that the country can use to shape its response to rising temperatures.
Delegates from over 190 countries are meeting this week in Hangzhou, China, and have made decisions related to the content and timing of the 7th Assessment Report, a UN agency on climate change, and are behind the scenes Evaluate science.
The conclusions of assessments released every 5-7 years will help inform the government of the sources of greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of pollution on the planet, and the risks that do not act in place to control it. A comprehensive report is also essential to verify that sufficient countries are emitted to reduce emissions, a process under the Paris Climate Agreement known as inventory.
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The US delegation was prevented from attending the Trump administration’s IPCC meeting, said a government official who was granted anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the situation. The move follows President Donald Trump’s announcement last month. I will withdraw from Paris deals soon.
Among the representatives who were blocked from attending the meeting are federal scientist Katherine Calvin. Katherine Calvin co-chaired one of three working groups to help frame the next assessment: The Trump administration has also stopped the technical support unit that supports its working group, according to two other government officials.
Losing that unit will ensure delays at the working group level in preparation for assessments, one of those officials said.
The State Department declined to comment.
Flout the IPCC conference is another signal that the Trump administration is pulling back from global climate involvement. American officials Did not attend Last week’s Green Climate Fund board of directors is the main tool for poor countries to support climate efforts. It is combined with a A complete attack on climate science At home, Climate program closure A broad freeze on foreign support, managed by the US International Development Agency.
Concerns have already been around between representatives and supporters regarding delays related to the IPCC’s seventh assessment, following differences of opinion on several key elements of last year’s report’s timeline. The main composite report is scheduled for the second half of 2029, but only after the reporting from the three working groups is completed. The idea is part of what will be published before the next stock in 2028.
“The Paris Agreement process must be notified by the best and most up-to-date available science,” a group of countries known as the High Fishing Union urged by a statement Friday. Signatories include UK, Germany, the European Union’s climate commissioners, as well as several small island nations.
Catherine Calvin, NASA’s Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor, will answer questions at a press conference and discuss the latest global temperature data at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC on August 14, 2023. A NASA spokesman confirmed that Calvin would not be present. IPCC meeting.
Joel Kowsky/NASA/Distribution Materials via Xinhua/Alamy Stock Photo
European officials said the statement responds to growing concerns that the IPCC will delay its seventh assessment cycle as a result of cuts in US funding and pushbacks from Petrostates such as Saudi Arabia. .
“As policymakers, we cannot afford to continue to ignore science,” Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition Sarah Eigesen said in a statement.
The US provides money and expertise to the IPCC process. Calvin, NASA’s Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor, is currently co-chair of Working Group III, focusing on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and remove them from the atmosphere.
A NASA spokesman confirmed that Calvin would not attend the IPCC meeting.
The Technical Support Unit is a “core machine” of the Working Group, said a longtime IPCC contributor who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. They often do the management, technical and editing tasks necessary to deliver reports.
“If US support disappears – not only will technical support disappear equally, not just the co-chair, but it’s a hole that needs to be met,” the person said.
Despite the importance of these technical units, current disruptions do not necessarily mean that evaluations will be delayed, said Jesse Keenan, author of the IPCC’s sixth assessment report, that segments have been in the same year. It was released over and over, Final Synthesis Report It was published in 2023. Consulting company ICF International is entrusted to the 7th assessment technical support agreement, allowing another country to pay the company to continue its work.
But Keenan said the Trump administration can pose obstacles for US scientists who are participating in the IPCC process. He said it is unclear whether the State Department will withdraw its appointment to the IPCC. The administration can also break tradition by refusing to cover travel expenses for non-government scientists to attend IPCC meetings.
During Trump’s first term, the US took part in the International Climate Conference, but had a low profile. It is suitable for some professionals.
“They didn’t have a strong position. They’re really good diplomats. An IPCC contributor said:
Some supporters benefit when US representatives skip this week’s IPCC meeting, especially if the US takes a tight boundary against synchronizing the timing of their assessments with global stocktakes. He said it might be. National progress report card Slowing climate change.
The conference could also indicate how other countries would attempt to try the void created by the American departure.
This is “the first opportunity to see how China responds to the absence of the US in the international climate process,” says Li Shuo, director of the Chinese Climate Hub at the Institute for Policy Research in Asia.
Some scientists have said the long term meaning is even more troubling. Keenan said Trump’s efforts to reduce the federal government have led to a culling position for staff working on the climate and energy program – is being sold as a change that favors fiscal management.
“But really, it’s a nihilist fantasy to abolish the government,” he said.
Reprinted from E&E News With permission from Politico, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news to energy and environmental experts.
