A judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture can’t move forward with its efforts to relocate thousands of employees and close U.S. Forest Service regional offices.
science policy
Posted inResearch & Developments
2026 State of the Climate Report Shows a Planet Reaching Its Limits
The seventh edition of an annual report analyzing Earth’s “planetary vital signs” indicates that Earth systems are rapidly destabilizing, some at an accelerating rate.
The report, published today in BioScience, analyzed 16 of these signs, including greenhouse gas emissions levels, ocean heat content and acidity, the mass of major ice sheets, the number of hot days, Earth’s surface temperature, and more.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Supreme Court Opens New Term with Major Climate Case
The U.S. Supreme Court opened its newest term by hearing a case about climate change, the outcome of which could have wide-reaching consequences for fossil fuel companies and state and local governments.
Posted inResearch & Developments
A Redefinition of “Emergency Management” Could Upend FEMA’s Mission
Last week, FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton issued a memorandum outlining the agency’s scope and essentially redefining “emergency management.”
Posted inResearch & Developments
NASA has Underspent on Research and Analysis for 15 Years
Spending for NASA’s research and analysis programs has remained relatively flat for 15 years, ignoring recommendations from community-led decadal surveys and directives by Congress.
Posted inResearch & Developments
EPA Will Remove Carbon Dioxide Limits on Power Plants
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency will announce the repeal of federal limits on power plant carbon dioxide emissions, finalizing a proposed rule that the agency has been considering since last spring.
The repeal means that coal-, oil-, and gas-powered electricity plants in the United States will no longer need to limit their carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with regulations set in 2024. Those rules required existing coal-powered and new gas-powered plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution. At the time, the Biden administration estimated that the rules would result in tens of billions of dollars’ worth of public health benefits.
Posted inAGU News
The Arctic Report Card Matters More Than Ever; AGU Joins Partners to Publish in 2026
The critical and highly anticipated yearly assessment will be carried forward through a partnership with CIRES/CU Boulder and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Posted inResearch & Developments
EPA Moves to Redefine “Discharge of a Pollutant”
The EPA is proposing a change to the definition of “discharge of a pollutant” that would exempt moving boats and ships from pollution regulations.
Posted inEditors' Vox
AGU Launches New Special Collection at the Nexus of Science and Policy
Seven AGU journals are encouraging submissions of policy-related commentaries and research articles, boosting scientists’ voices to decision-makers.
Posted inResearch & Developments
The World Will Overshoot 1.5°C and Must Now Remove Carbon, United Nations Says
Humanity is certain to exceed the warming limit set by the Paris Agreement, a legally binding treaty meant to cap the world’s carbon emissions, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Now, to reduce severe threats to human health, food security, water supplies, and more, societies will need to reach net-negative greenhouse gas emissions by not only cutting those emissions, but expanding carbon dioxide removal projects, a pathway called “overshoot, peak and decline.”