Climate scientists at US universities are confronting a surge of public-records requests targeting their work on fossil fuels and climate attribution, according to a Nature investigation that identified more than 30 such requests filed since 2024. The requests form part of an organized campaign that questions the methods and conclusions of attribution science, the field that seeks to determine how much climate change is responsible for specific extreme weather events and other impacts.
The volume of requests marks a notable shift in how outside groups are engaging with climate research. Public-records laws, originally designed to make government and publicly funded institutions accountable to citizens, are being used to obtain emails, drafts, grant materials and other internal documents from researchers. Scientists quoted in the investigation describe the requests as burdensome and say they divert time and resources away from research, while also raising concerns about academic freedom and the chilling effect on researchers who study politically sensitive topics.
Attribution science has become increasingly prominent in public debate because it allows researchers to link individual heatwaves, floods, droughts and storms to human-caused warming. Those findings are frequently cited in litigation, insurance assessments, policy discussions and media coverage of climate impacts. The investigation suggests the records requests are aimed at scrutinizing the funding, methodology and communications behind such studies, particularly where researchers have worked on projects connected to fossil-fuel issues.
Universities receiving the requests must decide how to respond under state and federal transparency rules, balancing legal obligations with the protection of scholarly work and personal information. The investigation does not specify which institutions or researchers received the requests, but it indicates the campaign has spread across multiple US universities since 2024. The pattern echoes earlier episodes in which climate scientists were targeted with document demands, though the current wave appears broader in scope and more focused on the emerging field of attribution research.
The requests come amid wider political tension over climate policy and the role of scientific evidence in regulation. Researchers have warned that repeated document demands can discourage scientists from collaborating on controversial subjects or from communicating openly with the public. Scientific associations and university administrators have previously defended the independence of climate research, arguing that transparency requirements should not be used to harass or intimidate researchers.
The Nature investigation adds to a growing body of reporting on how transparency laws are being deployed in disputes over climate science. It also highlights the vulnerability of publicly funded research to political pressure, as scientists must navigate requests that can consume significant administrative time. For now, the campaign shows no sign of abating, leaving universities and researchers to weigh how best to comply while preserving the integrity and openness of their work.
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