Findings from the National Climate Assessment

Download the NCA findings slide deck

Originally aired February 20, 2013, Co-produced by Second Nature

The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released the draft of the third National Climate Assessment (NCA) on January 11th for public review. The NCA is a climate status report authorized under the Global Change Research Act of 1990.  Prepared every four years and based on the best available science, the report is a collaborative effort from hundreds academic, government, non-profit, and private sector experts.

A panel of NCA lead authors of the National Climate Assessment review of the report’s findings:

  • David Hales, President of Second Nature, who previously led College of the Atlantic to become the first institution of higher education in the United States to be a “NetZero” emitter of greenhouse gases, moderates.
  • Kathy Jacobs, NCA Director and Assistant Director for Climate Assessments and Adaptation at the Office of Science & Technology Policy, explains the significance of the NCA and the report process.
  •  Terese Richmond, National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee (NCADAC) Vice Chair and environmental and resource management lawyer outlines the report’s findings.
  • Jim Buizer, NCADAC member and Director of the Climate Adaptation and International Development Institute for the Environment, University of Arizona, gives an introduction to the proposed Sustained Assessmentan “ongoing process of working to understand and evaluate the nation’s vulnerabilities to climate variability and change and its capacity to respond” which is covered in-depth on April 24th.

The panel answers questions about the communications strategy for the report, how it relates to other reports, and public involvement.  The USGCRP accepted public comments on the report until April 12.