Misplaced Pages

#63936

82-709: Fourteen departments and agencies participate in the USGCRP, which was known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program from 2002 through 2008. The program is steered by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research under the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability, overseen by the Executive Office of the President , and facilitated by a National Coordination Office. Since its inception,

164-655: A response to each of the comments. While not taking issue with the report's findings, the Government Accountability Project complained that EPA delayed releasing the report three months so that its results could be excluded from a regulatory finding about whether greenhouse gases threaten public health. The United States Department of Transportation released Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure—Gulf Coast Study (SAP 4.7) in March 2008. The report

246-444: A series of "listening sessions" with a variety of stakeholder groups around the country to gain a better understanding of the emerging needs for climate information and ways in which federal research might be shaped to meet those needs. Stakeholder engagement that is a central element of the program's national assessment The USGCRP's fourteen participating agencies coordinate their work through Interagency Working Groups (IWGs) that span

328-679: A statutory requirement for a national assessment , the CCSP released Scientific Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change in the United States in May 2008. Shortly thereafter, a team of authors synthesized key findings from the SAP's. In June 2009, CCSP changed its name to United States Global Change Research Program and released the unified synthesis report, entitled Global Climate Change Impacts in

410-557: A wide range of interconnected issues of climate and global change. The IWGs address major components of the Earth’s environmental and human systems, as well as cross-disciplinary approaches for addressing issues under the purview of the USGCRP. The IWGs are composed of representatives from federal departments and agencies responsible for activities in each area. The IWGs are overseen by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Interagency Working Groups: Decision support activities---including

492-579: Is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence." A 2018 CRS cited the October 2017 CSSR: "Detection and attribution studies, climate models, observations, paleoclimate data, and physical understanding lead to high confidence (extremely likely) that more than half of

574-592: Is in the early stages of development and is anticipated to be released in 2026. As with other USGCRP assessments, the National Nature Assessment will draw on expertise from the Federal Government, Indigenous communities, academia, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. The Assessment team will hold an array of public engagement opportunities to ensure the report answers questions that are important to every American’s life, and

656-416: Is informed by the best available evidence. The USGCRP Strategic Plan for 2012-2021 maintains an emphasis on advancing global change science and research, but it also calls for a new focus on ensuring our science informs real-world decisions and actions. Moving forward, the strategic goals of USGCRP are to: The USGCRP has been guided over time by the following strategic plans. In 2003, the program undertook

738-486: Is proceeding slowly." The NRC was particularly critical of the program's failure to engage stakeholders or advance scientific understanding of the impacts of climate change on human well-being. Looking to the future of the program, a 2008 NRC report put forward a set of research recommendations very similar to that embodied in the CCSP Strategic Plan revision of 2008. The Climate Change Scientific Program

820-512: Is required by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 to conduct a National Climate Assessment (NCA) . The NCA is an important resource for understanding and communicating climate change science and impacts in the United States. The United States Global Change Research Information Office or GCRIO provides access to data and information on climate change research and global change-related educational resources on behalf of

902-423: Is responsible for producing these reports through the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) , a collaboration of 13 Federal agencies and departments. The National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee (NCADAC) was a 60-person U.S. Federal Advisory Committee which oversaw the development of the draft Third NCA report and made recommendations about the ongoing assessment process. The committee

SECTION 10

#1732779617064

984-813: Is similar to the surface warming. While these data are consistent with the results from climate models at the global scale, discrepancies in the tropics remain to be resolved." On January 16, 2009 (the last business day of the Bush Administration), USGS released Past Climate Variability and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitudes . According to the USGS press release, the report shows that: NOAA released Re-Analyses of Historical Climate Data for Key Atmospheric Features: Implications for attribution of causes of observed change in December 2008. According to

1066-503: The Federal Advisory Committee Act monitored the progress of SAP 4.1, and questioned several aspects of the final report. The original plan included maps and estimates of wetland loss from a then-ongoing EPA mapping study conducted by James G. Titus, who was also a lead author of SAP 4.1. Early drafts included the maps and results, but the final draft did not. Experts and environmental organizations objected to

1148-656: The Obama Administration generally embraced the CCSP products as sound science providing a basis for climate policy. Because those reports were mostly issued after the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and in some cases focused specifically on the United States, they were generally viewed within the United States as having an importance and scientific credibility comparable to

1230-631: The USAID —participate in the USGCRP. On February 2, 2023, Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, named the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the 14th member of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and its first new member in almost two decades. The USGCRP have produced four National Climate Assessments: NCA1 entitled "Climate Change Impacts on

1312-466: The implicit assumption that sea level and shorelines are stable. Efforts to plan for sea-level rise can be thwarted by several institutional biases, including government policies that encourage coastal development, flood insurance maps that do not consider sea-level rise, federal policies that prefer shoreline armoring over soft shore protection, and lack of plans delineating which areas would be protected or not as sea level rises. A committee set up under

1394-537: The net effect of greenhouse gases at four different levels. It also outlined key principles and approaches for developing global change scenarios. The two reports were each written by a subset of the members of the Climate Change Science Program Product Development Advisory Committee, a panel organized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act . The report's executive summary stated that

1476-534: The Federal Advisory Committee Act. This FACA panel's report gave a generally favorable review while providing many specific areas where improvements were needed. The advisory committee's greatest concern was that the report tried so hard to be evenhanded and not overstate what we know, that it came close to leaving the impression that we know little in cases where a lot is known. EPA revised the report to satisfy those concerns and published

1558-638: The IPCC assessments for the first few years of the Obama Administration. The primary outputs from the CCSP were its strategic plan and 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAP), five of which were released on January 16, 2009, the last business day of the Bush Administration. The CCSP Strategic Plan of 2003 defined five goals: The plan also proposed 21 SAP's, each of which were designed to support one of these five goals. The plan

1640-540: The IWG's continued to operate when the CCSP became the USGCRP. The Climate Change Science Program operated during an administration that believed that continued scientific investigation was necessary before policies should be implemented. The CCSP faced the challenge of navigating the narrow path between administration officials who were sceptical of the general scientific consensus about greenhouse gases, and scientific critics who were skeptical about almost everything that

1722-620: The NCADAC, the draft Third NCA report was released for public review and comment on January 14, 2013. By the time the public comment period closed on April 12, 2013, more than 4000 comments had been received from 644 government, non-profit, and commercial sector employees, educators, students, and the general public. Concurrently, the National Research Council , part of the National Academy of Sciences , reviewed

SECTION 20

#1732779617064

1804-439: The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP); analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and biological diversity ; and analyzes current trends in global change, both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years. The Federal government

1886-536: The U.S. federal government focused on climate change science, formed under the auspices of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 . The NCA is a major product of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) which coordinates a team of experts and receives input from a Federal Advisory Committee. NCA research is integrated and summarized in the mandatory ongoing National Climate Assessment Reports. The reports are "extensively reviewed by

1968-715: The US Global Change Research Program was provided by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research , which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation ." In their 2001 assessment, the NAST concluded in the United States, "natural ecosystems appear to be the most vulnerable to the harmful effects of climate change." In their 2001 report they also described long-term major trends in climate change in

2050-477: The USGCRP has supported research and observational activities in collaboration with several other national and international science programs. These activities led to major advances in several key areas including: These advances have been documented in numerous assessments commissioned by the program and have played prominent roles in international assessments such as those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . Program results and plans are documented in

2132-454: The United States . The report had ten key findings which became the bedrock of the Obama Administration's view of the impacts of climate change. The CCSP was known as US Global Change Research Program until 2002, as authorized by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 . The Bush Administration changed its name to Climate Change Science Program as part of its U.S. Climate Change Research Initiative. The Administration envisioned "a nation and

2214-522: The United States consists of coastal environments and landforms such as barrier islands and wetlands that will respond to sea-level rise by changing shape, size, or position. The combined effects of sea-level rise and other climate change factors such as storms may cause rapid and irreversible coastal change. Coastal communities and property owners have responded to coastal hazards by erecting shore protection structures, elevating land and buildings, or relocating inland. Accelerated sea-level rise would increase

2296-440: The United States" was delivered to the Federal Government for review in 2013 and became available to the public in May 2014. The Third NCA report was written by more than 300 authors drawn from academia; local, state, tribal, and Federal governments; and the private and nonprofit sectors. The NCADAC selected these authors based on criteria that included expertise, experience, and ensuring a variety of perspectives. After review by

2378-429: The United States" released on November 23, 2018. The USGCRP's National Nature Assessment will take stock of U.S. lands, waters, wildlife and the benefits they provide to the economy, health, climate, environmental justice, and national security. The Assessment will also look ahead at how nature might change in the future, and what those changes may mean for our economy and our lives . The First National Nature Assessment

2460-415: The United States" was released on November 23, 2018. According to Volume II, "Without substantial and sustained global mitigation and regional adaptation efforts, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was "administrative lead agency" in

2542-406: The United States", was published in 2009. In addition to synthesizing, evaluating, and reporting on what was known about the potential consequences of climate change , the report also sought to identify potential measures to adapt to climate change and to identify the highest research priorities for the future. The Third National Climate Assessment report entitled "Global Climate Change Impacts in

U.S. Global Change Research Program - Misplaced Pages Continue

2624-540: The United States: the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change" in 2000, NCA2 entitled "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States" in 2009, NCA3 entitled "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States" in 2014, and NCA4 in two volumes—Volume 1 entitled "Climate Science Special Report" (CSSR) released October 2017 and Volume 2 entitled "Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in

2706-543: The activities described in the strategic plan with urgency." The NRC also recommended that CCSP should expand its traditional focus on atmospheric sciences to better understand the impacts, adaptation, and the human dimension of climate change. More focus on helping decision makers was necessary, it concluded. A 2007 NRC review was more critical. "Discovery science and understanding of the climate system are proceeding well, but use of that knowledge to support decision making and to manage risks and opportunities of climate change

2788-496: The administration did related to climate change. As a result, the CCSP was under more scrutiny than most federal scientific coordination programs. The National Research Council (NRC) reviewed CCSP several times. The NRC's 2004 review concluded that "the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program articulates a guiding vision, is appropriately ambitious, and is broad in scope" and "the CCSP should implement

2870-553: The assessment was disbanded. NOAA said that the disbandment of the committee will not "impact the completion of the Fourth National Climate Assessment." The National Climate Assessment (NCA) is conducted under the auspices of the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The GCRA requires a report to the President and the Congress every four years that integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of

2952-488: The assistance of "1,000 people, including 300 leading scientists, roughly half from outside the government." NCA5 was published on November 14, 2023. Proposed Chapters (as of February 2022): The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has established the Global Change Information System (GCIS) to better coordinate and integrate the use of federal information products on changes in

3034-471: The awareness of the availability of data and information resources of the participating Federal Agencies. 38°53′58″N 77°02′25″W  /  38.89931°N 77.040305°W  / 38.89931; -77.040305 Climate Change Science Program The Climate Change Science Program ( CCSP ) was the program responsible for coordinating and integrating research on global warming by U.S. government agencies from February 2002 to June 2009. Toward

3116-686: The backbone to the Congressionally mandated Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States which was released in June 2009. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region (SAP 4.1) on January 16, 2009. According to the report's abstract, rising sea level can inundate low areas and increase flooding, coastal erosion, wetland loss, and saltwater intrusion into estuaries and freshwater aquifers. Much of

3198-522: The barriers to implementing new strategies, expanding collaboration among ecosystem managers, creatively re-examining program goals and authorities, and being flexible in setting priorities and managing for change. DOE released Effects of Climate Change on Energy Production and Use in the United States (SAP 4.5) in October 2007. The report concludes that the possible impacts of climate change on energy production are important enough to start considering how to adapt. The report's executive summary summarized

3280-437: The conclusion that lower atmosphere is warming on a global scale: "There is no longer a discrepancy in the rate of global average temperature increase for the surface compared with higher levels in the atmosphere," said the report, "the observed patterns of change over the past 50 years cannot be explained by natural processes alone". The report also said that "all current atmospheric data sets now show global-average warming that

3362-442: The consequences of climate variability and climate change for the United States." NAST is an advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to help the US Global Change Research Program fulfill its legal mandate under the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The NSTC forwarded the report to the President and Congress for their consideration as required by the Global Change Research Act. Administrative support for

U.S. Global Change Research Program - Misplaced Pages Continue

3444-681: The continental United States during the past half-century. Nevertheless, drought impacts have likely become more severe in recent decades. It is likely that the impacts have been more severe because the recent droughts have lasted a few years, and because warmer temperatures have created stresses in plants, which make them more vulnerable. The US Department of Energy released the second SAP in July 2007, entitled Scenarios of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Atmospheric Concentrations and Review of Integrated Scenario Development and Application . This two-volume report explored emission scenarios that could stabilize

3526-441: The costs and environmental impacts of these responses. Preparing for sea-level rise can be justified in many cases, because the cost of preparing now is small compared to the cost of reacting later. Examples include wetland protection, flood insurance, long-lived infrastructure, and coastal land-use planning. Nevertheless, preparing for sea-level rise has been the exception rather than the rule. Most coastal institutions were based on

3608-496: The current status of the climate, and anticipated trends for the future; integrates scientific information from multiple sources and sectors to highlight key findings and significant gaps in our knowledge; establishes consistent methods for evaluating climate impacts in the U.S. in the context of broader global change, and provides input to Federal science priorities and is used by U.S. citizens, communities, and businesses as they create more sustainable and environmentally sound plans for

3690-467: The deletions. The federal advisory committee also took issue with the maps' removal from SAP 4.1 and recommended that EPA publish the mapping study. EPA later confirmed that EPA management had altered the report and suppressed the mapping study, although it declined to explain why. USGS released Thresholds of Climate Change in Ecosystems (SAP 4.2) on January 16, 2009. A key premise of the report

3772-444: The development of assessments and other tools and information to support adaptation and mitigation decision making---are coordinated in a distributed fashion across the program and are part of the mandate of all IWGs and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. National Climate Assessments have been integral components of USGCRP since its inception. Along with its strategic role as coordinator of Federal global change research, USGCRP

3854-404: The draft and submitted feedback. The NCADAC produced a final draft of their report and provided it to the federal government for review in late fall of 2013; a final public version of the report was released on May 6, 2014. A number of derivative products, including a printed "Highlights" document, have been produced in addition to the full interactive electronic NCA document that is available on

3936-435: The emission reductions necessary to stabilize radiative climate forcing would "require a transformation of the global energy system, including reductions in the demand for energy... and changes in the mix of energy technologies and fuels." But the authors found great uncertainty in the price that would be necessary to stabilize climate forcing—as well as the resulting economic cost: " These differences are illustrative of some of

4018-408: The end of that period, CCSP issued 21 separate climate assessment reports that addressed climate observations , changes in the atmosphere, expected climate change , impacts and adaptation , and risk management issues. Shortly after President Obama took office, the program's name was changed to U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) which was also the program's name before 2002. Nevertheless,

4100-437: The federal government. The report analyzed how to meet existing management goals set for each protected area to understand what strategies will increase the resilience of each ecosystem. EPA concluded that climate change can increase the impact of traditional stressors (such as pollution or habitat destruction ) on ecosystems, and that many existing best management practices to reduce these stressors can also be applied to reduce

4182-410: The following findings. Agriculture Land resources Water resources Biodiversity EPA released Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources (SAP 4.3) in May 2008. The study focuses on national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, national estuaries, and marine protected areas, all of which are protected by

SECTION 50

#1732779617064

4264-769: The future. In fact, the Gulf Coast Study recommends that transportation decision makers in the Gulf Coast should begin immediately to assess climate impacts in the development of transportation investment strategies. The study also found, however, that transportation planners need new methodological tools to address the longer time frames, complexities and uncertainties that are inherent in projections of climate phenomena. Such methods are likely to be based on probability and statistics (i.e., risk assessment techniques) as much as on engineering and material science. Three SAP's were prepared to further CCSP's Goal 5 To fulfill

4346-405: The global community empowered with the science-based knowledge to manage the risks and opportunities of change in the climate and related environmental systems". President Bush reestablished priorities for climate change research to focus on scientific information that can be developed within 2 to 5 years to assist evaluation of strategies to address global change risks. One the CCSP's cornerstones

4428-455: The global environment (NCA 2011:2)." The vision is to advance an inclusive, broad based, and sustained process for assessing and communicating scientific knowledge of the impacts, risks, and vulnerabilities associated with a changing global climate in support of decision-making across the U.S. According to the USGCRP official website the NCA, Informs the nation about already observed changes,

4510-535: The global environment and the implications of those changes for society. The GCIS is an open-source, web-based resource for traceable, sound global change data, information, and products. Designed for use by scientists, decision makers, and the public, the GCIS provides coordinated links to a select group of information products produced, maintained, and disseminated by government agencies and organizations. As well as guiding users to global change research products selected by

4592-766: The greatest concerns is that once an ecological threshold is crossed, the ecosystem in question will most likely not return to its previous state. The report also emphasized that human actions may increase an ecosystem's potential for crossing ecological thresholds. For example, additional human use of water in a watershed experiencing drought could trigger basic changes in aquatic life that may not be reversible. Ecosystems that already face stressors other than climate change, will almost certainly reach their threshold for abrupt change sooner. The United States Department of Agriculture released The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity (SAP 4.3) in May 2008. The executive summary includes

4674-401: The impacts of climate change. For example, current efforts to reverse habitat destruction by restoring vegetation along streams also increase ecosystem resilience to climate change impacts, such as greater amounts of pollutants and sediments from more intense rainfall. EPA also concluded that the nation's ability to adapt to climate change will depend on a variety of factors including recognizing

4756-608: The major roads, 9% of the rail lines, and 72% of the ports. More than half (64% of interstates; 57% of arterials) of the area's major highways, almost half of the rail miles, 29 airports, and virtually all of the ports are subject to temporary flooding and damage due to increased storm intensity. The increase in daily high temperatures could increase wear on asphalt and the potential for rail buckling. Construction costs are likely to increase because of restrictions on workers on days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Transportation planners can employ climate data to draw meaningful conclusions about

4838-574: The nation's future. In 2013, the President's Climate Action Plan released by the Executive Office of the President specifically noted the importance of the National Climate Assessments in achieving the goal of "Using Sound Science to Manage Climate Impacts". The next assessment is scheduled to be released is 2023. On August 18, 2017, a 15-member advisory committee that was tasked with writing "concrete guidance" based on

4920-476: The number of heavy precipitation events is expected to increase, raising prospects of flooding and structural damage. And the number of very hot days (i.e., >90 °F) could rise by 50%. The report concluded that the expected impacts of these climate effects on transportation are striking. A significant portion of the region's road, rail, and port network is at risk of permanent flooding if sea levels rise by four feet. This includes more than 2,400 miles (27%) of

5002-549: The observed global mean warming since 1951 was caused by humans, and high confidence that internal climate variability played only a minor role (and possibly even a negative contribution) in the observed warming since 1951. The key message and supporting text summarizes extensive evidence documented in the peer-reviewed detection and attribution literature, including in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report ." Volume 2 entitled "Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in

SECTION 60

#1732779617064

5084-461: The preparation of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. According to NOAA, "human health and safety" and American "quality of life" is "increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change". The USGCRP team that produced the report included thirteen federal agencies— NOAA, the DOA , DOC , DOD , DOE , HHS , DOI , DOS , DOT , EPA , NASA , NSF , Smithsonian Institution , and the USAID —with

5166-419: The previous National Assessment on Climate Change , by systematically deleting references to the report from government scientific documents. Piltz later complained about political tinkering with the timing of SAP 4.6 , and suppression of sea level rise mapping studies associated with SAP 4.1 . National Assessment on Climate Change The National Climate Assessment ( NCA ) is an initiative within

5248-602: The program's annual report, Our Changing Planet . The Global Change Research Act of 1990 defines global change as: "Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life." Fourteen U.S. federal agencies—the USDA , DOC , DOD , DOE , HHS , DHS , DOI , DOS , DOT , EPA , NASA , NSF , Smithsonian Institution , and

5330-547: The public and experts, including federal agencies and a panel of the National Academy of Sciences . For the Third National Climate Assessment, released in 2014, USGCRP coordinated hundreds of experts and received advice from a sixty-member Federal Advisory Committee . The Fourth NCA ( NCA4 ) was released in two volumes, in October 2017 and in November 2018. The First National Climate Assessment

5412-459: The report with three questions and answers: EPA released Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems . (SAP 4.6) in July 2008. The report was directed by Janet L. Gamble of EPA and written by 28 authors. According to EPA, some of the key conclusions of this report are: The report was formally reviewed by an independent panel set up in compliance with

5494-469: The report, from 1951 to 2006 the yearly average temperature for North America increased by 1.6°Fahrenheit, with virtually all of the warmingsince 1970. During this period, the average temperature has warmed approximately 3.6 °F over Alaska, the Yukon Territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, but no significant warming occurred in the southern United States or eastern Canada. More than half of

5576-565: The twenty-first century. The first NAST co-chairs were Dr. Jerry M. Melillo of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Tony Janetos, and Thomas Karl. The First National Climate Assessment prepared by National Assessment Synthesis Team (NAST), entitled "Climate Change Impacts on the United States: the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change", was released in 2000. The report

5658-434: The unavoidable uncertainties in long-term scenarios." In addition to SAP 2.1, CCSP produced three other reports to further the goal of improving quantification of climate forcing: As provided in the CCSP strategic plan, four SAP's examined issues under CCSP's Goal 3: Seven SAP's examined the effects of climate change, impacts on people and natural systems, and opportunities and capacity to adapt. Those assessments provided

5740-451: The various US Federal Agencies that are involved in the USGCRP. The GCRIO handles requests for documents related to USCRP. They also have outreach services to both domestic (Federal, state, and local) and international target audiences (including governments, institutions, researchers, educators, students, and the general public) in an effort to showcase relevant activities and results of the US Global Change Research Program and to help increase

5822-529: The warming of North America is likely (more than 66 percent chance) to have resulted from human activity. There is less evidence that precipitation is changing. The report found no significant trend in North American precipitation since 1951, although there have been substantial changes from year to year and even decade to decade. Moreover, it is unlikely that a fundamental change has occurred in either how often or where severe droughts have occurred over

5904-675: The web. In preparation for the 2014 NCA, the USGCRP began in 2011 to call for wider participation and reinforced the long-term goal of improving climate literacy. Recruitment began in 2011 for NCAnet, a network of organizations working with the NCA, to further engage producers and users of assessment information across the United States. NCAnet was officially established and registered at the Federal Register on April 13, 2012. In Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) Volume 1, released in October 2017, entitled "Climate Science Special Report" (CSSR), researchers reported that "it

5986-414: Was a multidisciplinary effort to study and portray in regional detail the potential effects of human-induced global warming on the United States. The project was articulated into some 20 regional studies - each involving dozens of scientific and academic experts as well as representatives of industry and environmental groups. The Second National Climate Assessment, entitled "Global Climate Change Impacts in

6068-573: Was chaired by Richard H. Moss . In 1998, the first National Assessment Synthesis Team (NAST) was formed under the auspices of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR), through the Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources (CENR) and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) with members from "government, academia, and private enterprise." Its mandate was to broadly "design and conduct" "national efforts to assess

6150-617: Was essentially synonymous with the Subcommittee on Global Change Research of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources under the National Science and Technology Council in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.) Specific program activities were coordinated through Interagency Working Groups. A coordination office facilitated the activities of the Principals and IWGs. That office as well as

6232-404: Was occasionally criticized for the alleged suppression of scientific information. In March 2005, Rick S. Piltz resigned from CCSP charging political interference with scientific reports: "I believe ...that the administration ... has acted to impede forthright communication of the state of climate science and its implications for society." Piltz charged that the Bush Administration had suppressed

6314-560: Was prepared by Michael Savonis of the Federal Highway Administration, Joanne Potter (a consultant to DOT), and Virginia Burkett of USGS. The premise of SAP 4.7 was that climate is changing. Sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico are likely to rise by two to four feet over the next 50 to 100 years from the combination of climate-induced warming and land subsidence. Tropical storms are anticipated to increase in intensity and

6396-430: Was published in 2000. Between 2002 and 2009, USGCRP previously known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), produced 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs). The second NCA was published in 2009 and the third was released in 2014. NCA's overarching goal according to their May 20, 2011 engagement strategy summary, "is to enhance the ability of the U.S. to anticipate, mitigate, and adapt to changes in

6478-659: Was sun-set in fall 2014. The Department of Commerce established the NCADAC in December 2010 as per the Federal Advisory Committee Act (1972). 1972. The NCADAC was supported through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The successor Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment , established in 2015, was sunsetted by the Trump administration on August 20, 2017. The fifteen-member committee

6560-469: Was that an ecological threshold is the point at which there is an abrupt change in an ecosystem that produces large, persistent and potentially irreversible changes. The report concluded that slight changes in climate may trigger major abrupt ecosystem responses that are not easily reversible. Some of these responses, including insect outbreaks, wildfire, and forest dieback, may adversely affect people as well as ecosystems and their plants and animals. One of

6642-618: Was the creation of 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs) to provide information to help policymakers and the public make better decisions. The following is a list of participating agencies. The CCSP was guided by a committee of senior representatives from each of these departments and agencies, known as the CCSP Principals. The CCSP was also overseen by the Interagency Working Group on Climate Change Science and Technology. (The committee of CCSP Principals

6724-660: Was updated in 2008. The following sections discuss the SAP's, grouped according to the five topic areas. Three SAP's evaluated observations of climate change and our ability to definitively attribute the causes of these changes. NOAA released the first of 21 CCSP Synthesis and Assessment reports in May 2006, entitled Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences . The report identified and corrected errors in satellite temperature measurements and other temperature observations, which increased scientific confidence in

#63936