John Smol receives the biennial Mohn Prize in Tromsø – The Canadian climate professor was honored for his Arctic freshwater research, accepting the award from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on the eve of the ceremony [1].
Smol describes a sharp rightward shift in politics, especially under Trump – He says the past year has seen an “extremely and unheard‑of” attack on academia, with the U.S. administration driving a clear political drift to the right that threatens scientific norms [1].
U.S. climate researchers face funding cuts and job losses – Smol recounts colleagues losing half their budgets overnight, citing immediate layoffs and reduced grants, and notes Canada’s “Chairs” program aimed at recruiting displaced American scientists [1].
Climate action is framed as an investment, not a cost – Comparing climate policy to education, Smol argues short‑term deregulation appears cheap but leads to costly, hard‑to‑repair damage, urging long‑term investment in environmental safeguards [1].
He warns that “alternative facts” erode public trust in science – Smol says politicians increasingly legitimize doubt, turning scientific evidence into a matter of belief, and stresses the need for researchers to communicate clearly to policymakers and the public [1].
Smol stresses urgency: early mitigation beats costly later repairs – He notes that nature forgives slowly, that delayed action will require decades or centuries of remediation, and that climate change remains the greatest threat humanity faces [1].