Trump Administration Plans Cuts That Could Impact Key Climate Observatory in Hawaii

The Trump government is considering cancelling a lease on a vital support office in Hilo, Hawaii, which services the world-renowned Mauna Loa Observatory, an essential facility for measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. It is among the steps to cut federal spending as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire business magnate Elon Musk under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The potential shutdown concerned scientists and environmentalists regarding its impact on the climate research.

Mauna Loa Observatory, established in 1956, has the responsibility to measure CO2 levels, the longest continuous atmospheric carbon dioxide record in the world. The organization's headquarters, Hilo office, where it places itself about 30 miles or roughly 50 kilometers away from the observatory, is the scientists' hub support base conducting their fieldwork for Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Scientists use the office to obtain air samples and forward them to a NOAA laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, which is analyzed for the greenhouse gas concentration.

The Department of Government Efficiency had included more than 20 NOAA offices in the lease cancellation list in its budget-cut plan. The Hilo office is included in the online ad on the DOGE website and could save $150,692 per year if the lease were canceled. But whether the office would be shut down permanently or relocated is not certain. NOAA officials and DOGE officials have issued no statements.

Researchers fear the shutdown of the Hilo office would hamper the gathering of data essential to tracking climate change. The CO2 measurements made at the Mauna Loa Observatory were used in constructing the Keeling Curve, a famous graph for tracking atmospheric carbon dioxide rises since the late 1950s. Observatory science contributes significant inputs to climate models used in policy measures for global warming and environmental stability.

Trump's administration has come under criticism for reducing funding for climate research, such as cutting funds and personnel reductions in NOAA. DOGE also temporarily suspended government charge cards for recently issued NOAA personnel, adding additional barriers to the capability to track global greenhouse gases. Scientists are warning that the measures will substantially lower the capability to gather and monitor climate data, and could force long-term research programs to a halt.

The Hilo office lease will expire on August 31, and no decision has been made yet. Closing down the office would delay NOAA's ability to keep monitoring atmospheric CO2 levels to provide research on world climate globally. Scientists and environmentalists have not yet protested the fate of climate monitoring under the new administration's budget-cutting plans.

Source: Reuters