Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a science-based nonprofit advocacy group founded in 1969 by faculty and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, UCS aims to combine independent scientific research with citizen action to tackle critical issues related to the environment and international security, with a primary focus on global climate change. The organization emerged in response to concerns about the militarization of science, advocating for research that addresses societal and environmental challenges rather than military endeavors.
UCS's work spans various areas, including clean energy, nuclear safety, food and agriculture, and scientific integrity. The organization engages in policy advocacy, public education, and citizen mobilization, providing resources and guidance for individuals seeking to make environmentally responsible choices. Notably, UCS has issued significant declarations, such as the "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity" in 1992, which called for urgent action to mitigate human impacts on the planet.
With over 100,000 members, UCS is recognized for its critical role in promoting accountability in climate science and influencing environmental policy. The organization continues to publish reports and analyses that highlight the need for immediate action to address climate challenges, reflecting its ongoing commitment to fostering sustainable practices and scientific integrity in policymaking.
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
- DATE: Established 1969
Mission
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a science-based nonprofit advocacy group based in the United States, combines independent scientific research with citizen action to publicize and address issues pertaining to the environment and international security, including global climate change. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, UCS works to influence government policies, corporate practices, and consumer choices through scientific research and citizen advocacy.
UCS was founded by faculty and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on March 4, 1969, a few months after forty-eight senior faculty members signed a statement voicing concern over the militarization of science and technology. The fledgling organization called for research to be diverted away from military efforts and toward solving environmental and societal problems. From its initial focus on nuclear weapons and the military funding of academic research, UCS has since become active in the areas of global climate change, clean vehicles and energy, safety in the nuclear power industry, transportation, nuclear weapons reduction, global security, food and agriculture, invasive species, science and democracy, and scientific integrity.
UCS is an alliance of scientists and citizens whose stated mission is to use rigorous, independent science to solve the most pressing problems Earth faces. The UCS combines technical analysis and advocacy to create solutions for a sustainable future. The organization’s staff includes scientists, engineers, researchers, economists, analysts, advisors, and policy experts. UCS experts are frequently called to testify before state and federal government committees. In addition to issuing reports, videos, position papers, and fact sheets for policymakers, the media, and the public, UCS coordinates citizen advocacy efforts such as petitioning and letter-writing campaigns. UCS also offers tips for consumers seeking to make environmentally sound choices in their daily lives. In 2024, UCS membership numbered more than 100,000 members and foundations.
Significance for Climate Change
In November 1992, in the wake of that summer’s United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, UCS issued the “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.” This declaration, signed by more than 1,700 scientists (including 104 Nobel laureates) from seventy-one countries, warned that human activities were putting the living world in peril; it called for fundamental change.
Among the environmental stressors enumerated in the “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity” was the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide released by and by combustion of fossil fuels—a buildup that had the potential to induce global climate change. The declaration called for scientists in all disciplines; the world’s governmental, business, industrial, and religious leaders; and all peoples to work together to effect needed changes. Proposed improvements in humanity’s stewardship of the Earth included moving toward clean and sustainable fuels, ending widespread deforestation, and providing developing nations with financial and technological aid to enable them to develop in an environmentally responsible manner. A reevaluation of the original declaration makes it apparent that, thirty years later, it is evident humanity has failed to make significant progress in solving its environmental challenges and is facing the effects of catastrophic climate change.
In 1997, UCS presented a follow-up petition to President Bill Clinton’s administration a few months before the Kyoto Climate Summit. “World Scientists’ Call for Action” was signed by more than 1,500 scientists from sixty-three countries. Among the signers were 110 Nobel laureates and 60 winners of the United States National Medal of Science. The petition urged government leaders to strengthen the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by completing an effective climate treaty at Kyoto. It called for legally binding commitments and near-term timetables from industrial and developing nations to augment the UNFCCC’s voluntary measures regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The petition also encouraged the world’s scientists and citizens to hold their leaders accountable for mitigating anthropogenic influences on global climate.
In 2004, UCS published “Scientific Integrity in Policy Making,” a report criticizing President George W. Bush’s administration for its politicization of science. The report included the allegation that climate change research findings at federal agencies had been suppressed and distorted. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy dismissed the report as biased, but UCS stood by its findings. An associated statement calling for the restoration of scientific integrity in policy making was signed by 62 prominent scientists. After Barack Obama won the presidential election in November 2008, UCS members met with the president-elect’s transition team to discuss scientific integrity in federal policymaking.
UCS has published several reports on global warming. How to Avoid Dangerous Climate Change: A Target for U.S. Emissions Reductions (2007) sets a long-term target for US reductions in GHG emissions and assesses then-pending federal climate bills in light of the proposed target. Smoke, Mirrors, and Hot Air (2007) maintains that ExxonMobil conducted a deliberate campaign of disinformation to delay action, influence legislation, and cloud public opinion regarding global climate change. Atmosphere of Pressure: Political Interference in Federal Climate Science (2007), copublished with the Government Accountability Project, documents the suppression and manipulation of findings that many federal climate researchers claim to have experienced under the Bush administration. Other UCS publications include a series of state and regional reports that assess possible climate-change impacts in the United States and available means for mitigation. UCS is one of the national governing-board organizations of the Sustainable Energy Coalition and is an institutional endorser of the 2007 Forests Now Declaration. UCS released multiple reports on its website in the 2020s regarding climate change, including Cutting Pollution with Electric Trucks: State-level Analysis on Benefits of Transitioning to Cleaner Trucks (2022), The Shaky Economics of Gas-Fired Power (2022), Accelerating Clean Energy Ambition (2023), Wetlands in Peril (2024), and Storing the Future (2024).
The UCS continues to advocate for increased attention to global climate change. When President Joe Biden signed the largest climate bill in US history on August 16, 2022, the president of UCS, Johanna Chao Kreilick, lauded the administration's focus on global climate change as a landmark day for both the country and climate. Kreilick called the bill a victory and a step forward in addressing the threat of climate change. Experts from UCS also commented extensively on the bill in their blog, The Equation.
Bibliography
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