The Third National Climate Assessment: Climate Change Impacts in the United States was published today. The Third National Climate Assessment (NCA), which delivers on USGCRP’s legal mandate and the President’s Climate Action Plan, is the most comprehensive, authoritative, transparent scientific report ever generated on U.S. climate impacts, both as currently observed and as projected for the future. The Third NCA documents climate change-related impacts and responses across key sectors and all regions of the U.S. with the goal of better informing public and private decision-making at all levels.
Tune into the White House's livecast about the report http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
Where Can You Find The Assessment?
The Third NCA is available to download and also can be explored in a novel interactive format through USGCRP’s newly redeployed web presence at http://globalchange.gov. An important feature of this interactivity is the traceability of the data and other information in the report, giving users the means to refer back to these data for their analyses and decision support. The site is mobile-compatible and every piece of the report—from highlights to chapters to key messages to graphics—has its own unique URL for social network sharing. Please find below links that will help you navigate the Third NCA:
-
Full Report: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/
-
Highlights: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights
Beyond the Third NCA, the new globalchange.gov features accessible and dynamic information on a wide range of climate-related topics.
White House materials about the release of the Third NCA: http://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change. At 2:00 pm EDT, the White House is hosting a stakeholder event that will feature speakers from the Administration, NCA authors, and users of the report. For those who won’t be at the event in person, you can tune into the live webcast:http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.
What Can Be Found In This Latest Assessment?
The data and information in the Third NCA can be of great value to the adaptation planning and implementation efforts of U.S. Federal Agencies and their partners and stakeholders. Some examples include:
-
The latest science on observed trends and projected future conditions of changes in the climate across the 8 NCA regions and contiguous U.S. as well as 13 sectors and cross-sectors.
-
Examples throughout of on-the-ground impacts across the U.S. , many of which are already directly affecting substantial numbers of Americans.
-
For the first time in a U.S. national assessment, explicit chapters on Decision Support, Mitigation, and Adaptation, with specific information on those topics as they are practiced now in addition to identifying research needs associated with these topics for improving future implementation of climate resilience measures. Specifically related to adaptation, the following information is captured in the Adaptation chapter:
o Adaptation key terms defined
o An overview of adaptation activities at multiple levels including the Federal government, states, tribes, local and regional governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector
o Example barriers to adaptation
o Several illustrative case studies of adaptation in action
-
A useful and informative section that answers some frequently asked questions about climate change. The questions addressed range from those purely related to the science of climate change to those that extend to some of the issues being faced in consideration of mitigation and adaptation measures.
-
Data and metadata behind content and images used in the assessment are accessible and traceable.