Climate scientists sound alarm on US absence at key UN meetings

The absence of US federal scientists “cast a shadow” over an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the Financial Times reports. The IPCC – “the world’s leading climate science body” – was meeting last week “to outline and budget for the seventh iteration of its landmark report”, the newspaper explains. As well as blocking US officials from travelling to the event, the US is “also expected to withdraw funding from the organisation”, the newspaper explains. The US has contributed more to the IPCC since its inception than any other country, it adds. The article quotes Prof Joeri Rogelj from Imperial College London, who said that while the IPCC would not “stand or fall with one single country”, it is “clear that if a large group of very skilled scientists cannot participate any more, this is not going to help”. He added that US scientists could still be able to work with the IPCC if they were nominated by another country or observer organisation.

Meanwhile, there is continuing coverage of the widespread job cuts at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its National Weather Service at the end of last week. BBC News says that around 880 workers were terminated on Thursday. Reuters reports that scientists have warned that the cuts will put US lives at risk and stifle crucial climate research. The newswire says that the job losses are part of a “broadening assault on the federal bureaucracy engineered by President Donald Trump and his aide, billionaire Elon Musk”. The article quotes Jane Lubchenco, the former NOAA administrator under Barack Obama, who said the mass layoffs would not save the government money since NOAA was already a “lean” agency. She added: “The mass firings today at NOAA are a national disaster and a colossal waste of money…Destroying NOAA’s ability to provide life-saving information, keep our ocean healthy and strengthen the economy makes no sense – no sense at all.” Inside Climate News says the “mass firing” of NOAA workers “may be illegal and threatens public safety”. CNN reports that the “terminations seemed to have been done in a way to minimise a paper trail, leaving it difficult for employee organisations and even direct supervisors to know who was fired and when”. The Hill and Time also report on the story.

At the same time, there is reporting on how a backlash against Elon Musk is affecting his EV firm Tesla. MailOnline reports that “dozens of climate change protesters occupied the Tesla showroom in Westfield shopping centre [in London] on Saturday”. The Los Angeles Times reports on protests outside US Tesla stores. The Guardian reports on how Tesla owners are “offload[ing cars after Musk’s fascist-style salutes”. Politico says that “Tesla’s plummeting sales risk its lucrative emissions credit earnings”. And Rana Foroohar, global business columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times, writes that Tesla’s share price “has plummeted from a post-election high of nearly $480 to less than $282 last week”.

In other US news, Axios says that, according to experts, Trump’s “reported determination to overturn the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding on climate change would be extremely difficult – but not impossible”. Inside Climate News also reports on how the finding could be removed. The Financial Times reports that “Trump’s directives deal fatal blow to America’s offshore wind energy industry”. Time reports on how Trump is “trying to undo the Inflation Reduction Act”, while the New York Times reports that trade tariffs are raising costs for the oil industry at a time that Trump wanted to lower them.