Private initiatives, too, have tried to fill the data gap. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures created a voluntary framework for reporting climate risks, for example, and a growing industry of climate-risk modeling firms translates scientific projections into risk assessments at an asset level.

With the firing of the longtime head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics late last month and President Trump’s choice this week of a partisan economist to replace her, I’ve been thinking about the role of reliable,