Pielke Jr: Shutting Down NCAR Is Vindictive Governance

     Despite people’s differences in beliefs about climate change, most agree that basic research in climate science is a good thing, even though it has been accused of being biased. Just days ago, the Trump administration announced that it would shut down the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Trump officials dubbed it a hub for “federal climate alarmism” after it was established decades earlier, in 1960, for research in atmospheric chemistry and physical meteorology. Climate scientist Roger Pielke Jr. called the plans “vindictive governance. He has a long relationship with NCAR, having worked there with some of the most prominent early climate scientists. He worked there as an undergrad, as a Ph.D. candidate, as a post-doctoral researcher, and as a staff scientist. He explains what the research center is and does:

“NCAR is not a government laboratory — it is an FFRDC (Federally Funded Research and Development Center) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and overseen by a non-profit called the University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which is overseen by a consortium of more than 100 universities.”

“NCAR was founded in 1960 to conduct atmospheric sciences research at a scale larger than could be conducted at any single university:

“In 1956, the National Academy of Sciences convened a committee of distinguished scientists to investigate the state of meteorology. Noting the size and complexity of atmospheric problems and the inadequate resources for solving them, the committee recommended an exponential increase in support for basic research. Coupled with new funding, the committee planned to establish a national institute (later called a national center) for atmospheric research to be operated by a consortium of universities with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation.”

“Bibliometric analyses identify NCAR as one of the world’s top-five most prolific institutional contributors to atmospheric sciences, ranking alongside NOAA and NASA among top organizations in publications and high-impact research.”

     He notes that there is room for improvement as NCAR competes with universities for research dollars. It has been accused of being politicized and has hosted some biased researchers in the past, but he notes that it is not what it really is.

“Trust me — I call out politicized climate science all the time, and NCAR is not even on the list of institutions that I’d name in this category. NCAR has in the past certainly been home to climate activists (like Steve Schneider or Kevin Trenberth) and has also taken on institutional positions that arguably went beyond its mission, but today NCAR is just a big science organization filled with nerds trying to make the world a better place.”

     He also strongly criticizes the announcement as serving no valid or useful purpose aside from “owning the libs.” At the same time, he does concede that there is room for improvement and reform at the Center.

“The announced shuttering of NCAR follows no apparent strategy, meets no stated national need, and will cause irreparable harm to the U.S. scientific community, while decimating atmospheric sciences research — which is central to the economy and public safety.”

“It would be perfectly fair to call for NCAR to be modernized and improved and to take steps to make that happen. That would be smart science policy. What we are getting from the Trump administration instead is vindictive governance, which is the opposite of smart. Congress? Over to you . . .”

    

References:

 

Shutting Down NCAR Is Vindictive Governance: Damaging the nation to own the libs is dumb policy. Roger Pielke Jr. The Honest Broker. December 17, 2025. Shutting Down NCAR Is Vindictive Governance