"Funding was withdrawn because I work on climate research": How darkness fell on science in the US

No federal grant funded her trip to France. She is in Nice as a "private scientist." She is there to participate in "the discussion about what is happening to the ocean and what we can do for it."

The identity of this eminent researcher will not be revealed. After much hesitation, she chose not to give her name, so that she could speak as freely as possible. Specializing in marine biogeochemistry, she is based at a major university in the western United States.

What she doesn't mention during the interview is that, over a 30-year career, she has published several hundred articles in scientific journals and received several awards for her contributions to Earth sciences and oceanography. But that was before.

"From my university's perspective, I'm doing my job and I have the right to express scientific facts, freely and fairly." But there's no doubt about the target his specialty has become.

"We support climate science and climate change mitigation. The funding was withdrawn because I work on climate research, and that's no longer allowed."

$3.2 million cut

The $3.2 million in grants that kept her lab running have gone up in smoke. Within the fold of the major federal agency USAID, she was collaborating on another program, which also lost all funding, amounting to $20 million.

Temporarily, all she has left is the grant from the Democratic state where she works. Until April 2026. And after that? "All my students, my postdocs, my research technicians, my visiting researchers, 25 people in my lab, will no longer have funding."

With a smile of pained helplessness, she adds, "There are a lot of changes happening right now. So, as you can imagine, I can't sleep at night."

The future of his students is his "greatest concern." With entire swathes of knowledge becoming taboo, "the future of science in America will disappear, because we are no longer educating the next generation of scientists."

Going abroad? "I have 25 people in my lab. What will happen to them if I leave? I can't transport a lab and 25 people to another country!" she exclaims with frustration.

In April 2026, once the last funding has been exhausted, the scientific instruments she oversees, which "collect data," will stop. Such as the measurement of carbon emissions in wetlands, "a third of which have disappeared worldwide." Yet these ecosystems "clean water, capture carbon, and are nurseries for biodiversity."

Let the rest of the world continue

Gaps in the data and a precipice for the future, which she calls "desperate." The pace of change is also a huge shock, evidence of "the lack of response at the top of the state. There is no attempt to stop this," she adds, horrified.

In this context, the One Ocean scientific conference held in Nice, followed by the Ocean Policy Summit, seems like an unprecedented interlude. "It makes me sad to see that a country that was at the forefront of research is ceasing to lead this effort. It gives me hope to see the rest of the world continue."

Every expression of support is valuable. "I want to thank the French people for their support of our cause. The more people who use the hashtags #pourlascience, #pourleclimat, the better we will understand that this is a loss, not only for the United States, but for the entire world."

Is her mood one of resistance? The word that comes to mind is protest. So, she ends, surprisingly, with a quote from American rapper Queen Latifah: "You have to stand up for what you believe in, and sometimes you have to stand alone."

Alone and standing, as a woman, a scientist and an American, in the year 2025.