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Matthew Wielicki, a former University of Alabama geochemist who publicly disputes established climate science, has been appointed to lead the U.S. Global Change Research Program and oversee the Sixth National Climate Assessment. The Trump administration dismissed scientists working on the assessment in April 2025 and replaced them with researchers known for climate skepticism, the same group that produced a controversial Department of Energy climate report used to justify rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding. In response, the American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society plan to publish an independent U.S. Climate Collection of peer-reviewed climate research.
Why it matters
The National Climate Assessment is a congressionally mandated report that informs U.S. climate policy and public understanding of climate risks. The appointment of leadership that questions mainstream climate science could significantly alter the assessment's conclusions and potentially undermine regulatory frameworks designed to address greenhouse gas emissions and their effects on human health.
Understand the Science
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Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
Since 2000, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has been responsible for publishing the National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the effects of climate change on the United States released every four years.
Now, the program—and the assessment—is headed by Matthew Wielicki, an outspoken climate change denier, self-described “Earth science professor-in-exile,” and former University of Alabama geochemist, according to POLITICO.
Wielicki frequently casts doubt on established climate science on social media, with one recent post referring to climate change as an “imaginary problem.” He also runs a blog called Irrational Fear, which includes posts in which Wielicki posits that increasing solar radiation, rather than carbon dioxide, is responsible for regional warming signals; argues that the 2009 Endangerment Finding ignored the benefits of climate change for human societies; and casts doubt on the conclusions of the 2000 and 2009 National Climate Assessments.
“For too long, the USGCRP has been used as a vehicle for political agendas instead of sound science,” a White House spokesperson told POLITICO regarding Wielicki’s appointment. “We look forward to restoring the USGCRP and ensuring it fulfills its legal mandate.”
In a 29 June post on the social media platform X, Wielicki solicited ideas about what readers may want to be included in the Sixth National Climate Assessment.
The Sixth National Climate Assessment was originally scheduled to be published in 2028. However, in April 2025, scientists working on the report were dismissed by the Trump administration. In December 2025, the administration invited a group of researchers known for their climate skepticism to replace the dismissed scientists and begin work on the Sixth National Climate Assessment once again.
The same group of climate contrarians now working on the Sixth Assessment was responsible for writing a climate report for the Department of Energy last year that was used to justify the rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which concluded that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health and require regulation. Multiple reviews from scientists found that the DOE report was misleading and relied on flawed science.
To maintain the momentum of research supporting national and subnational assessments of climate risks and solutions, AGU, along with the American Meteorological Society, plans publish the U.S. Climate Collection, a special collection of climate research papers.
—Grace van Deelen (@gvd.bsky.social), Staff Writer
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Source: A Climate Skeptic Will Oversee the National Climate Assessment