"The Trump administration move is “politically motivated,” said the plaintiff, one of the nation’s leading environmental gr�oups."
"One of the nation’s largest environmental groups is challenging the Trump administration’s closure of a leading climate institute, filing a lawsuit Thursday [Aug. 20] in federal court saying the closure is unlawful.
The administration had announced in December that it would dismantle the Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR, which conducts advanced climate and weather modeling. The closure is part of a broader assault on climate science by the White House. But the lawsuit filed by the Environmental Defense Fund also says it was an illegal act of political retribution against Colorado.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Colorado, says the closure will deprive scientists at the environmental organization and across the globe of critical research that underpins their work trying to protect people from the harms of climate change.
“When we check the weather or track the path of a hurricane, we’re leaning on science generated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research,” said Erin Murphy, lead counsel for clean air and energy markets at the Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement. “The federal government’s investment in climate science plays a critical role in our ability to understand and prepare for more frequent and intense extreme weather events caused by climate pollution. The Trump administration is attempting to eliminate NCAR’s vital climate science research and close its Mesa Laboratory at a time when Americans everywhere are suffering from the impacts of climate change, including more intense heat and fires, more dangerous floods and storms, and skyrocketing insurance costs.”"
Nicholas Kusnetz reports for Inside Climate News August 21, 2026.
