NASA climate research lab draws attention as spending slashed By EPN Staff A NASA lab based for decades in New York City has shuttered its physical location in a budget saving move that has raised questions about the future of the agency’s climate research efforts. The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), affiliated with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland, abruptly canceled its $3 million annual lease in a building owned by Columbia University – the lease had been set to expire in 2031 – and forced lab staff to exit this spring. Why it matters NASA’s GISS has played an important role in performing research used to inform and shape energy and environmental policy, and the cut coincides with the Trump administration’s broader federal spending reductions, fulfilling a campaign promise the President made in his 2024 election bid. While critics argue these cuts will set the United States back on climate science, supporters of the administration’s efforts have suggested GISS is an example of mission creep and engages in duplicative efforts that qualify as “waste, fraud and abuse” under the guidelines of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The bigger picture The NASA GISS was established in 1961 to support the Goddard space flight program by conducting basic research in space and planetary sciences. By the mid-1980s, the lab began to explore atmospheric modeling and climate dynamics as popular interest in climate change grew. One of the lab’s most well-known contributions is GISTEMP, a land-based surface air temperature dataset developed to test and evaluate climate models used to guide policymaking. Many lab personnel are researchers and educators at area universities, including Columbia, Stony Brook and New York universities, and the lab has continued to publish since vacating its facility. Media and research-related inquiries have been redirected to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Additional details GISS employees are on remote work agreements, awaiting further details. The White House’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 cuts NASA’s science funding by 47% and reduces their workforce by one third. SUGGESTED STORIES Energy storage draws renewed attention, capacity to jump Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are rapidly increasing in the United States, with multiple states, including Virginia, pushing to increase adoption to meet clean-energy goals. The efforts are helping to drive predictions that energy storage capacity will reach 40 gigawatts (GW) in 20 Read more Climate change-related litigation continues The Colorado Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case brought by municipal officials against energy heavyweights Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy on claims that the companies are responsible for climate change and related weather disasters. Plaintiffs in the case, County C Read more At a glance: Maryland Maryland is the 19th most populous state in the U.S., with 6,263,220 residents across its 12,407 square miles, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state ranked No. 31 for business in 2024 by CNBC. Nearly 20 percent of the state's workforce is employed by federal, state or local governm Read more
Energy storage draws renewed attention, capacity to jump Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are rapidly increasing in the United States, with multiple states, including Virginia, pushing to increase adoption to meet clean-energy goals. The efforts are helping to drive predictions that energy storage capacity will reach 40 gigawatts (GW) in 20 Read more
Climate change-related litigation continues The Colorado Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case brought by municipal officials against energy heavyweights Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy on claims that the companies are responsible for climate change and related weather disasters. Plaintiffs in the case, County C Read more
At a glance: Maryland Maryland is the 19th most populous state in the U.S., with 6,263,220 residents across its 12,407 square miles, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state ranked No. 31 for business in 2024 by CNBC. Nearly 20 percent of the state's workforce is employed by federal, state or local governm Read more
