The first year of Trump's second term saw the US government cut thousands of jobs at federal science agencies, slash grant money for universities, and effectively end government-backed research into the climate crisis. More than 10,000 doctorate-trained experts in science and other fields have now left federal government employment, according to one analysis. US scientists have joined research institutes in Norway over the past year, many of which are prioritizing pioneering climate research in the Arctic.
Last summer, the centre-left Norwegian government announced a 100 million NOK (£8m) programme to attract international researchers. So far, some 27 scientists have come to Norway under the programme, including 23 from the US. Norway is keen to ensure that climate research continues to be prioritized in the Arctic, which is a region warming four times faster than the global average.
We are a small country that will not be able to solve climate change on our own, so we are keen to attract international students and researchers to boost our research output.
Scientists are attracted to Norway due to the oil-rich country's well-funded institutions, the high Norwegian quality of life, and its position on the 'frontline' of the climate crisis. According to The Independent - World, Sigrun Gjerløw Aasland described Norway as a small country that cannot solve climate change alone and is keen to attract international students and researchers to boost research output.
Sweden's Lund University is making a new push to recruit researchers at the same time as more and more researchers are leaving the US after Donald Trump's attacks on universities. When Lund University recruited international top researchers last year, most came from American universities. According to Dagens Nyheter, Lukas J Meier described government interference in research as creating an unsustainable situation for science.
The Arctic is an area where security and climate really intertwine, and Norway has a clear ambition to deepen our understanding in this part of the world, so that we can act as the world's eyes and ears in the North.
The exact number of researchers who have left the US for other countries like Norway and Sweden remains unclear, as does the specific scale of attacks or policies by Donald Trump on universities that are causing this exodus. The long-term impacts of this brain drain on US scientific research and climate science, and whether other countries besides Norway and Sweden are actively recruiting these displaced US scientists, remain to be seen.
Governments should not interfere in research. It becomes an unsustainable situation for science.