US President Donald Trump plans to slash the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by 20 percent, as part of his budget proposal for 2019.
Nature.com reports NOAA would see its budget slashed by 20 percent to $4.6 billion (€3.7 billion), compared to the 2017 level of $5.7 billion (€4.6 billion).
The White House proposal would gut activities related to climate change across the agency, and eliminate competitive grants for climate-change research, Nature reports.
The administration is also looking to close NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory, based in College Park, Maryland, and end the National Sea Grant College Program, which supports more than 30 US universities that conduct research, education and training about ocean and coastal topics.
