Germany builds Hamburg data ark to protect U.S. climate simulations from Trump cuts

September 25, 2026 at 01:55 PM2 min

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Germany's Climate Computing Center in Hamburg is adding 5 petabytes of storage to back up U.S. climate simulations for the 2029 UN climate assessment. The German Research Foundation set up a $35 million program in late 2025 to safeguard U.S. data from public sources. The move follows U.S. withdrawal from the IPCC and UNFCCC in January.

Key Facts

The German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ) in Hamburg will add about 5 petabytes of storage to its existing 254 petabytes.
The German Research Foundation launched a $35 million program in late 2025 to permanently store copies of U.S. climate data from public and open sources.
The DKRZ project is named CMIP7-ark, a backup for the U.S. contribution to the seventh IPCC assessment due in 2029.
The U.S. government withdrew from the IPCC and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in January.
Six other projects, including SHIELD and SEND, have received funding to preserve U.S. science datasets.

The Hamburg Backup

Technicians at the German Climate Computing Center in Hamburg are preparing to install new racks that will add about 5 petabytes of storage capacity. The center already holds 254 petabytes of climate simulation data, making it one of the world's largest repositories. The new equipment will store backup versions of climate simulations from the United States. The project is called CMIP7-ark, a lifeboat for the U.S. contribution to the seventh IPCC assessment.

Motivation and Funding

German science leaders cite the Trump administration's cuts to climate research and removal of climate references from government websites as the primary motivation. The German Research Foundation believes the administration could block European access to U.S. data or manipulate it to skew findings. The foundation set up a $35 million program in late 2025 to provide a safe haven for U.S. data from public and open sources. Six other projects, including SHIELD and SEND, have also received funding to secure endangered Earth data.

U.S. Withdrawal and Response

The U.S. government quit the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in January. U.S. researchers are still contributing to global climate science despite the withdrawal. Christopher Kadow, head of data analysis at DKRZ, said important contributions cannot be lost for technical or political reasons.