Scientists Help Keep Climate Information Public
New Climate.us launches today as an independent, nonprofit home for trusted, science-reviewed climate information
At a time when public access to reliable climate information can feel increasingly uncertain, more than 80 scientists have stepped forward to help protect it. That is one of the most important details behind today’s launch of the full Climate.us website: the new independent, nonprofit climate information platform has already built a volunteer network of more than 80 subject matter expert reviewers who are helping ensure that the site’s climate news, explainers, data resources, visuals, and educational materials remain scientifically accurate, accessible, and useful.
Climate science only serves the public when people can find it, understand it, trust it, and use it. Teachers need clear classroom resources. Journalists need accurate background and context. Community leaders need plain-language information to help residents prepare for risks. Local and state decision-makers need data they can use to plan. Families and students need answers they can rely on.Climate.us was created to help meet that need.
Built by former members of the team behind NOAA’s Climate.gov, Climate.us is designed to continue the kind of plain-language, science-reviewed climate communication that made Climate.gov an essential resource for educators, journalists, decision-makers, and communities across the country. The new site includes climate news and stories, expert blogs, visual status reports on key climate indicators, maps and data pathways, climate literacy resources, classroom materials, and restored access to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
It is also important to say clearly what Climate.us is not. It is not an official U.S. government website. It is an independent nonprofit project created to protect public access to trusted climate knowledge and ensure that reliable climate information does not disappear when political priorities shift.
Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote about climate.gov for SciLight. The Trump administration justified dismantling climate.gov, then one of the government’s most trusted and accessible portals for climate science. The domain was shut down, its content team was disbanded, and its peer-reviewed materials were scattered or buried. No public explanation was given. But the implications were clear: under the guise of promoting scientific rigor under the banner of “gold standard science,” the administration is erasing or sidelining science it doesn’t want the public to see.
“Trusted climate information should not disappear when politics change,” said Rebecca Lindsey, Managing Director of Climate.us. “Climate.us is building an independent, durable platform so people can continue to find the data and information they need to understand and talk about climate, and to teach, report, plan, prepare, and make informed decisions.”
The public has already shown that this kind of resource is needed. One-third of the funding to support the Climate.us launch came from more than 2,500 small donations totaling approximately $250,000. Those contributions helped move Climate.us from a rescue effort to something more durable: a public-backed platform for climate information that is independent, practical, and grounded in science.
The volunteer scientist reviewers are central to that promise. At a time when misinformation spreads quickly, and climate science is often politicized, review by subject-matter experts is not a technical detail. It is the foundation of trust.
Climate.us is not simply preserving information from the past. It is building a long-term public resource for the future — one that can expand over time, work with scientific experts, develop accessible visuals and explainers, and help people turn climate knowledge into meaningful conversations and informed action.
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