National Climate Assessment

National Climate Assessment
Name	National Climate Assessment
Formed	1990s
Jurisdiction	United States
Parent agency	United States Global Change Research Program

National Climate Assessment is a recurring scientific synthesis that evaluates climate change impacts across the United States of America, producing integrated findings used by policymakers, planners, and researchers. It connects federal science agencies, state offices, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations to assess regional and sectoral vulnerabilities, adaptation options, and risk management. The assessment informs executive branches including the Executive Office of the President of the United States and legislative bodies such as the United States Congress.

Overview

The assessment provides periodic, peer-reviewed reports that synthesize evidence from agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, and the Environmental Protection Agency. It covers interactions among climate drivers documented by programs such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the World Meteorological Organization. Users include federal departments like the Department of Energy, state agencies exemplified by the California Natural Resources Agency, tribal governments like the Navajo Nation, and municipal entities such as the City of New York.

History and Legislative Background

Origins trace to statutory directives embedded in the Global Change Research Act of 1990, and implementation was coordinated through the United States Global Change Research Program. Mandates have been shaped by administrations from the Clinton administration through the Biden administration and have interacted with legislation considered by the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Major contributors have included university consortia such as Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and national laboratories like Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Historical milestones intersect with events including the Kyoto Protocol debates and deliberations around the Paris Agreement.

Reports and Findings

Major assessment cycles produced comprehensive reports synthesizing observations, projections, and impacts for sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, public health, and ecosystems. Findings incorporate evidence from the National Climate Assessment 2014 cycle and subsequent updates that cite work by research centers such as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Harvard University, and Princeton University. The reports summarize regional impacts across areas including the Northeast megalopolis, the Gulf Coast of the United States, the Alaska Arctic, the Hawaii islands, and the Great Plains. Economic appraisals draw on methods used by the Department of Commerce and analyses referenced in studies from the Brookings Institution and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Public health sections reference findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

Methodology and Data Sources

Methodology integrates observational datasets from satellites (e.g., missions by NASA and NOAA) and in situ networks such as the National Weather Service and the Global Historical Climatology Network. Climate model projections rely on ensembles used by intercomparison projects tied to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and modeling centers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Sectoral analyses draw empirical data from agencies including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Assessment procedures employ peer review involving journals like Science (journal), Nature (journal), and reports from organizations such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Organizational Structure and Stakeholders

The assessment is coordinated by the United States Global Change Research Program with authorship panels assembled from academics at institutions like Stanford University, Yale University, University of Michigan, and University of Washington. Federal contributors include Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Defense. Nonfederal stakeholders encompass industry groups such as the American Petroleum Institute, environmental NGOs like The Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club, labor organizations exemplified by the AFL–CIO, and philanthropic funders including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Tribal, state, and local representation includes entities such as the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and state climatology offices.

Reception, Criticism, and Influence

Reception has ranged from adoption by municipal planners in cities like Miami, Florida and New Orleans to critique from policy actors in debates before the United States Congress and litigation venues including federal courts. Scientific endorsements have come from organizations such as the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union, while critiques have focused on attribution methods and economic valuation approaches raised by scholars at Cato Institute and policy analysts at Heritage Foundation. The assessment has influenced executive actions including directives from the White House and agency rulemaking at the Environmental Protection Agency, and has been cited in international negotiations at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Category:Climate change in the United States