Jan 7 -- The U.S. Global Change Research Program seeks public comment by February 20, 2022 on the Annotated Outlines of each chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), in particular on the scope and framing of chapter's proposed topic areas. Input received on proposed themes within each chapter's Annotated Outline will be used by chapter author teams to develop their draft chapters.
Authors of each chapter of NCA5 will develop chapter content structured around the topic areas proposed in the Annotated Outlines, highlighting the risk climate change poses to the things Americans value. All chapters are charged with focusing on scientific advancements since the last assessment was released in 2018. Because Chapter 1 is an overview summary of the final report, there is no Annotated Outline for Chapter 1 at this time.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is mandated under the Global Change Research Act (GCRA) of 1990 to conduct a quadrennial National Climate Assessment. The most recent was completed in 2018 and delivered in two volumes: The Climate Science Special Report (science2017.globalchange.gov ) and Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States ( nca2018.globalchange.gov ).
As with all previous USGCRP assessments, NCA5 development will be transparent and inclusive, offering opportunities for public participation throughout the process. The production and review processes are designed to result in a report that is authoritative, timely, relevant, and policy neutral; valued by authors and users; accessible to the widest possible audience; and fully compliant with the GCRA.
Background information, additional details, and instructions for submitting comments can be found at
http://www.globalchange.gov/notices. Responses to this Request for Comment can be entered via that website.
The full list of NCA5 chapters is below and can also be found
https://www.globalchange.gov/nca5. Chapter titles reflect the target topics or regions for the chapters. Final titles for the chapter may evolve as authors assess published literature.
Chapters will hold virtual public engagement workshops to allow interested members of the public to provide feedback on a chapter's Annotated Outlines to the author teams. Leaders for each chapter and the schedule for chapter workshops are posted on
https://www.globalchange.gov/nca5. Each workshop is limited to the first 200 registrants.
19. Economics Chapter:
Public Engagement Workshop January 31 | 12 PM–4 PM ET:
https://downloads.globalchange.gov/nca5-resources/nca5_engagement_workshops_flyers/National_Topics/PDF/Economics_NCA5%20EW.pdf
Chapter Lead: Solomon Hsiang, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
https://gspp.berkeley.edu/faculty-and-impact/faculty/solomon-hsiang
Federal Coordinating Lead: Jeremy Martinich, Acting Chief, Climate Science and Impacts Branch, Climate Change Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Agency Coordinating Lead: Monica Grasso, Chief Economic Advisor, NOAA; Rudy M. Schuster, Branch Chief/Social Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Chapter Authors: Lint Barrage, University of California, Santa Barbara; Delavane B. Diaz, Electric Power Research Institute; Harrison Hong, Columbia University; Carolyn Kousky, Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at University of Pennsylvania; Toan Phan, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; Marcus C. Sarofim, US Environmental Protection Agency; Wolfram Schlenker, Columbia University; Benjamin Simon, US Department of the Interior; Stacy Sneeringer, US Department of Treasury
Chapter Outline:
Introduction and Summary
1. Overview (not included in this review)
Physical Sciences
2. Earth Systems Processes
3. Climate Trends
National Topics
4. Water
5. Energy
6. Land Cover & Land-Use Change
7. Forests
8. Ecosystems
9. Coastal Effects
10. Oceans
11. Agriculture, Food Systems, and Rural Communities
12. Built Environment
13. Transportation
14. Air Quality
15. Human Health
16. Tribes & Indigenous Peoples
17. U.S. International Interests
18. Complex Systems
19. Economics*
20. Human Social Systems*
Regions
21. Northeast
22. Southeast
23. U.S. Caribbean
24. Midwest
25. Northern Great Plains
26. Southern Great Plains
27. Northwest
28. Southwest
29. Alaska
30. Hawai'i & U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands
Response
31. Adaptation
32. Mitigation
Appendices
Process
Information Quality
Tools
Indicators*
*New chapters
USGCRP Request for Public Comment on the Annotated Outlines of the Fifth National Climate Assessment:
https://www.globalchange.gov/content/request-public-comment-annotated-outlines-fifth-national-climate-assessment [Note: To see annotated chapters, go to
https://review.globalchange.gov/, create an account, sign in, click on "NCA5 Zero Order Draft: Public Review," then click on "your agreement that you will not cite, quote, or distribute the document in whole or in part other than for the purpose of this review."]
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/07/2022-00097/public-comment-on-the-annotated-outline-of-the-fifth-national-climate-assessment
Allison Crimmins, Director, National Climate Assessment, "The Authors of the Fifth National Climate Assessment Want to Hear from You," OSTP Blog, January 7, 2022
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/01/07/the-authors-of-the-fifth-national-climate-assessment-want-to-hear-from-you/