In a controversial move with serious implications for global climate science, U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a budget for fiscal year 2026 that entirely eliminates funding for NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatories — two missions central to monitoring Earth’s carbon cycle and plant health.

These satellites are critical to understanding how carbon dioxide (CO₂) — the principal greenhouse gas driving climate change — is emitted and absorbed across the planet. Their elimination marks a significant step back in the United States’ ability to track and combat climate change, and is raising alarm among scientists, environmentalists, and even some international partners.

What Are the Orbiting Carbon Observatories?

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions (OCO-2 and OCO-3) are among NASA’s most sophisticated Earth-observing tools. OCO-2, launched in 2014, and OCO-3, mounted on the International Space Station in 2019, provide high-resolution data on atmospheric CO₂ levels, helping scientists pinpoint which regions are emitting or absorbing greenhouse gases.

These missions are essential for:

• Tracking industrial emissions, deforestation, and agricultural practices.

• Understanding the role of forests and oceans in absorbing carbon.

• Supporting international climate models and compliance efforts under global treaties like the Paris Agreement.

Eliminating funding for these satellites essentially blinds the U.S. to the movement of CO₂, both from human and natural sources.

Trump’s Climate Policy Direction: A Familiar Pattern

This budget move is not unprecedented. During his first presidency, Trump made repeated efforts to slash funding for climate-related science, including attempts to:

• Pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

• Defund climate research at the EPA and NOAA.

• Remove climate change content from government websites.

Now, with a second term unfolding, the strategy appears to remain the same — dismantling institutional tools that enable evidence-based climate policy.

By cutting funding to the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, the Trump administration is directly undermining the scientific basis of environmental regulation, a move critics say is ideologically driven rather than fiscally justified.

What Does the Budget Proposal Say?

Trump’s 2026 budget request allocates zero funding for the Orbiting Carbon Observatories. While the White House claims it is part of a cost-saving measure, analysts argue that the cost of these missions is minuscule compared to their scientific value.

Furthermore, the same budget maintains or even increases spending on space defense, crewed missions, and commercial partnerships, showing a clear prioritization of strategic and industrial space goals over climate monitoring.

Scientific Backlash and Global Impact

Climate scientists and environmental researchers have been quick to denounce the move. Experts warn that shutting down carbon-tracking missions would have several negative consequences:

• Reduced global data accuracy: Countries and institutions around the world rely on NASA’s CO₂ data for climate modelling, impact studies, and emission accountability.

• Hampered policy decisions: Without precise data, it becomes harder for governments and international bodies to verify climate targets or respond to ecological emergencies.

• Blind spots in Earth systems: NASA’s satellites provide a global picture of plant health, deforestation, urbanization, and seasonal CO₂ cycles. Losing this means losing key indicators of environmental stress.

Some researchers argue that this will slow down global efforts to address climate change, especially for developing countries that lack their own Earth observation capabilities.

Why Plant Health Monitoring Also Matters

In addition to tracking CO₂, the OCO satellites also observe plant health and photosynthetic activity, providing vital data for:

• Agricultural planning and food security

• Forest management and reforestation tracking

• Early warning systems for drought and desertification

Cutting off this data pipeline could seriously hinder climate resilience strategies, both domestically and internationally.

A Blow to Global Climate Collaboration

The satellites also represent America’s scientific leadership on climate change. By withdrawing support, the U.S. signals a retreat from multilateral climate collaboration, even as the world races to meet net-zero targets.

Other space agencies — like the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan’s JAXA — may try to fill the gap, but the loss of NASA’s capacity and open data policies will likely set back global science coordination by years.

Conclusion: Data Is Power — and Politics

The proposed elimination of NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatories is not just a budgetary footnote — it’s a strategic rollback of the scientific foundation upon which modern climate action depends.

In a world increasingly shaped by climate extremes, environmental migration, and ecological disruption, the ability to see, measure, and understand CO₂ flows is not optional — it’s essential infrastructure.

By gutting these missions, the Trump administration is not only silencing satellites, but potentially crippling climate-informed decision-making for the next decade.

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