After the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in research grants and fired thousands of federal employees at scientific agencies, a group of more than 30 experts gathered at an Aspen Global Change Institute workshop last July, according to Grist. They developed what is now called the Climate Reserve, a network backed by tens of millions of dollars and led by Aparna Shrivastava, a former senior climate official in the Biden administration. The group's mission is to identify critical climate work left in limbo and find a place where it can continue without federal support.
So far, Climate Reserve has funded more than two dozen new positions for climate experts, placing fellows with organizations such as the Environmental Protection Network and the University of Minnesota. It has also revived federal projects the government cut, including EJScreen, an online map showing which communities experience the worst pollution, as well as international work mapping sea-level rise on islands in Panama and measuring greenhouse gas emissions in five African countries.
The group is deliberately secretive about some of its work to keep fellows and projects out of the crosshairs of an administration that has been punitive with its funding cuts, Grist reports. Many of those involved still rely on federal funding in some capacity or plan to apply for it in the future. Now that the network is gaining momentum, its leaders are willing to take the risk of being more open about their efforts in hopes of attracting additional funding, since many people remain out of work.