• Q&A: How Trump is threatening climate science in Earth’s polar regions Daisy Dunne 02.20.26Daisy Dunne 20.02.2026 | 10:42amSince Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, his administration in the US has laid off thousands of scientists and frozen research grants worth billions of dollars. • The cutbacks have had far-reaching consequences for all areas of scientific research, extending all the way to Earth’s fragile polar regions, researchers say. • Speaking to Carbon Brief, polar researchers explain how Trump’s attacks on science have affected efforts to study climate change at Earth’s poles, including by disrupting fieldwork, preventing data collection and even forcing researchers to leave the US. • One climate scientist tells Carbon Brief that the administration’s decision to terminate the only US icebreaker used in Antarctica forced her to cancel her fieldwork at the last minute - with her scientific cargo still held up in Chile. • As US polar scientists reel from the cuts, Trump has caused a geopolitical storm with threats to take control of Greenland, the self-ruling island which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. • Below, Carbon Brief speaks to experts about what Trump’s sweeping changes could mean for climate science at Earth’s poles - Why is the US important for polar research?

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  • Q&A: How Trump is threatening climate science in Earth’s polar regions Daisy Dunne 02.20.26Daisy Dunne 20.02.2026 | 10:42amSince Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, his administration in the US has laid off thousands of scientists and frozen research grants worth billions of dollars. The cutbacks have had far-reaching consequences for all areas of scientific research, extending all the way to Earth’s fragile polar regions, researchers say. Speaking to Carbon Brief, polar researchers explain how Trump’s attacks on science have affected efforts to study climate change at Earth’s

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