NOAA-Led U.S. Global Change Research Program Report Released
On June 16, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released the NOAA-led study, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States" - a state of knowledge report about the observed and projected consequences of climate change for our nation and people. The document is an authoritative scientific report written in plain language, with the goal of better informing public and private decision making at all levels.
The report draws from a large body of scientific information including the set of 21 synthesis and assessment products from the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It also includes recent information published since these assessments were released. This report provides a single coherent analysis of the current understanding of climate change science and identifies gaps that remain in climate science.
The report discusses climate-related impacts for societal and environmental sectors and regions across the nation, with the goal of better informing public and private decision making at all levels. The entire country is expected to be challenged by a set of common impacts, yet some regions will face various, additional climate-related issues and consequences. For example, water is a key issue in all regions, but the specific changes expected are not the same across the map. While the impacts of climate change are expected to vary among regions, several issues of national importance transcend regional boundaries. Seven such "sectors" are considered in this report.
The primary focus of the report is on the impacts of climate change in the United States, but it also discusses some of the actions society can take or is already taking to respond to the climate challenge. Response options involve reducing emissions to limit future warming as well as removing emitted gases from the atmosphere. Other actions involve adapting to the changes that are already unavoidable. Choices about emissions made now will have far-reaching consequences for climate change impacts, with lower emissions reducing the magnitude of climate change impacts and the rate at which they will appear.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program supports research on the interactions of natural and human-induced changes in the global environment and their implications for society.
The full report can be found online at www.globalchange.gov/usimpacts.
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