This week's announcement that the Trump Administration intends to withdraw the U.S. from participation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with a host of other global intergovernmental organizations, is disappointing but not surprising.

The U.S. Academic Alliance for the IPCC (USAA-IPCC) was formed in March 2025 in part to prepare for this possibility and to ensure that U.S. scientists remain able to engage in IPCC work regardless of the status and role of the U.S. government. With the support of the USAA-IPCC, more than 70 U.S. citizens and U.S.-based experts who are currently serving the IPCC as coordinating lead authors, lead authors, review editors and committee members will continue to play these roles.

“U.S. climate scientists have made incredible contributions to understanding our planet’s life support systems and the impacts and risks of climate change. Their role as key players in IPCC reports have helped the U.S. maintain our preeminent position in science and technology, and this global scientific cooperation will continue despite this unfortunate decision,” said Dr. Pamela McElwee, Professor of Human Ecology at Rutgers University, who serves as chair of the Alliance.

“There is a reason we call our community the global scientific enterprise. We cannot grow, innovate, or advance unless we are linked together sharing, analyzing, and deliberating on vital climate data through critical international organizations like the IPCC. In the wake of this devastating move, AGU pledges to do all it can to bridge global partnership, research, and dialogue,” said Dr. Brandon Jones, AGU President, which hosts the alliance.

The Trump Administration began disengaging from IPCC prior to yesterday’s formal announcement. Since February of 2025, the U.S. State Department has not nominated experts for involvement in IPCC work, nor supported travel to IPCC meetings for selected authors, a role they have played in all prior administrations. The U.S. government also did not participate in either of the IPCC business sessions in 2025, the first time the U.S. has not been in attendance since the IPCC’s founding in 1988.

As a result, the USAA-IPCC has assumed a key leadership role in nominating U.S. scientists for consideration as authors for IPCC reports, including for the Seventh Assessment Report (nominating 282 authors in April 2025) and the Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (nominating 33 authors in December 2025), as well as for roles on the IPCC Task Group on Data Support and for participation in several expert workshops. AGU and the USAA-IPCC have also raised funds to support travel for U.S. scientists and technical experts selected by IPCC to attend author meetings and workshops.

Since the founding of the IPCC over four decades ago, U.S. scientists and other experts have made critical contributions, leading formal processes as Working Group co-chairs as well as filling vitally important author and reviewer roles. IPCC findings have shaped science-based policy at all levels—from global climate agreements to local resilience plans—and strengthen the ability of policy communities to make informed decisions. Ensuring US scientists remain fully engaged in the IPCC and the global climate science community will lead to important new research opportunities and international collaborations that benefit the US in substantial ways. The USAA-IPCC looks forward to continuing our support of US climate experts, climate science research, and the IPCC.

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